Unbreakable Spirits: A Spirited Extension
by OceanSpiral
Summary: A collection of oneshots, extensions and background stories about the characters and stories of Spirited and Free Spirits. Latest story is "Fool's Gold" in which Sienna finds herself in the company of a very familiar face from her past.
1. A Spirited Introduction

An Introduction and Character Bios

Hello again! OceanSpiral here! Welcome to "A Spirited Extension".

First off, two things!

If you are an old reader, thank you very much for following my previous fanfiction, Spirited so dedicatedly and for coming to read the extension! I appreciate it very very much! Now, you can skip the next paragraph, the character bios and resume reading later on.

If you are a new reader, I would suggest going back to my profile and reading my fanfiction entitled "Spirited" as this is primarily an expansion, and although separate from the main story, you won't be at all familiar with the characters or storylines that are reference. However, if the idea of reading 200,000 words plus doesn't sit too well with you, (or if you're an old reader wanting a refresher) here is a summary of the main characters, which will allow you to pick up a feel of the storyline. However, I would still advocate a thorough reading of the first story to get the most out of these side-stories.

**Protagonists (in order of appearance)**

**Sienna Volbeda  
>(Primary Protagonist of Spirited and Free Spirits)<br>**A 15 (17 in Free Spirits) year old girl from Pallet Town whose life ambition is to become a chef, not a Pokemon trainer. Her father, Cal, owns a chain of Pokemon dojos, and her mother, Suzanne is a reputable breeder of dog Pokemon and a strong trainer in her own right. Sienna's reluctance to become a trainer stems from the disobedient, rowdy Pokemon her father raised and her adamant insistence she too becomes a trainer. However, fate soon lends a hand and Sienna soon finds herself trainer of a "spirited" Mareep, and a quest to find her mother who has mysteriously disappeared to the Hoenn region, rumoured to be chasing after her estranged father. Sienna is primarily a stubborn, headstrong girl, who, once she sets her mind on something, never gives up. She is revealed to have a softer side though once she begins to open up to her Pokemon, the new friends she meets and becomes stronger and wiser as her journey goes on. She successfully foils an attempt of a criminal organization (which she once assumed was headed by her father) to capture the Legendary Pokemon to take over the world.  
>Her team includes (at the end of Spirited): Meloi the Ampharos, Aurora the Sealeo, Monty the Persian, Kiba the Growlithe, Indigo the Girafarig and Cairo the Vibrava.<p>

In Free Spirits, Sienna is shown to be a young woman attending pastry school, who has left her training days behind her. But on the release of her father from prison, she travels to Johto to confront him and inadvertently begins adventuring around Johto in pursuit of badges so she can prove to him she is a capable trainer. In the two years she has spent away from training, she finds herself falling behind and struggling with her Pokemon battling and suffers from a loss of confidence. However, she still remains her stubborn determined self, who will never let anyone or anything get in her way.

**Suzanne Volbeda  
><strong>Sienna's mother, who used to be a powerful trainer in her heyday. She favours dog Pokemon and runs a business on the side breeding powerful puppy Pokemon. She learns of Cal's actions and attempts to take him down, leaving her 15 year old daughter alone with no explanation as to her absence. She is a strong, independent woman, who claims she hates Cal, but she cannot help but feel upset when her husband is revealed to be a puppet of the organization, used as a mere front to further Nathan's gains. Her primary concern though, is and always will be, her only daughter Sienna.

**Professor Oak (based upon the canon version)  
><strong>The resident Pokemon Professor of Kanto who is neighbour to Suzanne and Sienna, and who provides Sienna with her first Pokemon. The Volbedas and the Oaks have a good relationship, Professor Oak even remembering Sienna's birthday without her prompting him. He is a trusted confederate of Sienna's during her journey, always ready to help her whenever she has a problem. He is the one who takes over care of Suzanne's Growlithe, and who sends Sienna a baby Growlithe for her to raise.

**Elliot Wood  
><strong>A childhood friend of Sienna whom she met again in the Pewter City Pokemon Centre. Initially arrogant and overconfident, obliterating Sienna in battle with his Umbreon. After discovering the two knew each other, Elliot's true nature is revealed. He is a geeky character, with a penchant for Grass and Dark type Pokemon, even going as far to co-ordinate his clothes black and green respectively. He calls Sienna a "greenhorn" and sticks to that nickname, even when she becomes stronger. He is a powerful Pokemon trainer, having challenged the Elite Four, but stumbling at the last hurdle. He is half-brother to the Elite Four member Lance, and has little contact with their father. His relationship with his brother, although losing to him in his elite four challenge, is steadily improving. He is never seen without his trusted Umbreon, Jet, at his side. He and Sienna begin to have feelings for each other in the final chapters of Spirited, and then they begin a romantic relationship. His team includes Umbreon, Tropius, Carnivine, Cacturne, Mightyena and Roserade.

In Free Spirits, now 18, Elliot has secured a healthy romantic relationship with Sienna, and also appears to be improving upon his rocky relationship with half-brother Lance. He also proves himself just as strong, if not _stronger _than ever in regards to his Pokemon training.

**Jasmine Moore  
><strong>A girl Sienna met out of chance in Cerulean Pokemon Centre. Seeing Sienna is having difficulty controlling her Pokemon, she forcibly _drags_Sienna to battle Misty at the Gym. She joins Sienna on her journey afterwards, after feeling responsible for the subsequent accident Sienna gets in. A blonde, petite girl, she appears delicate but she has brute strength to rival that of a Machoke, and is forceful and noisy. However, she soon becomes a trusted friend of Sienna. Little is known about her personal and home life. Her team includes (at the end of Spirited) Skittle the Delcatty, Heather the Ivysaur, Terra the Sandslash, Sulphur the Quilava, Mizu the Azumarill and Nightshade the Hypno. This is changed by Free Spirits in which she adds Albus the Hoothoot and Honey the Heracross to replace Terra and Nightshade respectively.

In Free Spirits, it is revealed Jasmine is an only child who comes from an extremely rich and powerful family, whose parents never really approved of their only daughter becoming a trainer, preferring her to become a businesswoman or marry into money. She reveals a side of superficiality to herself, particularly in regard to newest member of the gang, Bailey. However, it is suspected among the group that Jasmine may harbour some manner of secret feelings towards their newest friend.

**Misty (based upon the canon version)  
><strong>The water loving Gym Leader of Cerulean Gym, Misty provides Sienna with her first taste of Gym Battling. Her battling style is fierce and strong with an "all out offence" with water Pokemon. She doesn't take well to losing, but is fair in providing Sienna with a badge, TM and money in recognition of her win. Misty is also one of the characters that returns to assist Sienna in the battle against Nathan's organization. She doesn't get on well with Flannery.

**Scott Harper  
><strong>A 12 year old Pokemon trainer from Fuchsia City who initially travelled with his big sister Nikki before embarking on his own journey. He appears to favour ground and rock type Pokemon. He is arrogant, loud mouthed and hates losing, and dreams of attaining greatness one day in the Pokemon league. So far, by the end of Spirited, his only known Pokemon remain Rhyhorn and Cubone.

By the age of 14 in Free Spirits, Scott has become an incredibly powerful trainer. He has matured somewhat, and after suffering a defeat at the hands of the Hoenn Pokemon League, realised that he is not ready for any leagues until he has strengthened the bond with his Pokemon. He has however taken on the entire of the Johto circuit, and has amassed a powerful team including Marowak, Pidgeot, Rhydon, Gabite, Tauros, Torkoal and Quagsire.

**Nicolle "Nikki" Harper  
><strong>Nicolle, also known as Nikki, is a caring, shy, awkward girl who adores and dotes on her little brother, her friends and her Pokemon alike. She is not a fan of battling, preferring to shun it in favour of one day trying her hand at contests. She, despite her demure and delicate appearance, adores Fire type Pokemon, and for the most part of her journey carried around an egg her father found for her on Cinnabar Island. Her team includes (by Spirited's conclusion) Dixie the Ninetails, Blaze the Chameleon, Etna the Numel and the Magby that hatches from the egg.

Nikki has become a region famous contest battler by the time of Free Spirits, and is also engaged in a romantic relationship with Christian Hart, contest battler extraordinaire. She remains much the same in personality, still shy, sweet and retiring, a total contrast to her beloved fire types. Her team is supplemented with Darwin the Pansear, a present given to her by her Pokemon researcher father.

**Flannery (based upon the canon version)  
><strong>The fiery leader of Lavaridge gym, Flannery heads up to Mt Chimney after trainers and people mysteriously start vanishing near there. She helps Sienna and the girls escape on the back of her Charizard, and then returns alongside Misty and the other gym leaders to assist in the movement against Nathan's team. She is hotheaded and loudmouthed, often coming out with (unintentionally hilarious) one liners.

**Alakazam (now deceased)  
><strong>A very old, very wise and very powerful Alakazam that resides in the Safari Zone. He brings Sienna to him to tell her about her father's plans to go after Kyogre, and if he is allowed to capture them, the world will be forever changed. After Sienna fails, Alakazam returns to save her and Elliot's life, but greatly endangering his own in the process. When they bring him to the Pokemon Centre, Alakazam sacrifices himself to save Elliot and Sienna, telling them in his dying breath to stop the organization or the world would never be the same again.

**Wallace (based upon the canon version)  
><strong>The final Gym Leader in the Hoenn circuit, Sienna goes to Wallace to seek help for her cause. Wallace refuses to listen to her until she battles him. When she wins and tells him the story, he immediately decides to help, even allowing Sienna to stay with him and train with him. Wallace is obsessed with grace and elegance, forever focusing on the beauty of his beloved water Pokemon. Wallace has a more playful nature at times, and his devotion to beauty and elegance are reflected even in the food he prepares. He appears to have a good relationship with other Gym Leaders and enjoys a personal friendship with Lance.

**Lance (based upon the canon version)  
><strong>The Dragon Master, the final member of the Elite Four, and the half brother of Elliot. Lance is a cool, calm, sophisticated trainer that simply radiates elite and strength. Lance is immensely powerful and owns a plethora of magnificent dragon Pokemon, including a Dragonite which he lends to Elliot from time to time. He has an ever-improving relationship with his little brother, but often speaks down to him, often for his own good, even though Elliot does not often see it this way.

**Bailey Grey**  
>A student of Cal Volbeda, Bailey Grey is kind and perpetually optimistic soul. He comes from a large family and is chief caretaker of his younger siblings after the passing of his mother. He helped Cal with the dojo he opened, earning himself his starter Pokemon and a gateway into the Pokemon training world as a reward. He joins up with Sienna and the gang to gain real-world battle experience and privately cites it as the best decision he ever made. Often picked on for his chubby appearance, Bailey is a far deeper and more complex person than he presents himself as, and is a great philosophical thinker. His optimism can sometimes irritate the others, particularly Jasmine, who clashes with him occasionally. His team consists of Bayleef, Corsola, Misdrevus, Zubat and Onix.<p>

**Antagonists**

**Cal Volbeda (assumed primary antagonist of Spirited)  
><strong>Sienna's father, Cal, who owned a series of highly successful Pokemon dojos in his home region of Kanto, favouring Rock, Steel and Fighting Pokemon. It is revealed that Cal is not the leader of the organization as Sienna presumed, but only a mere puppet, made to join up with Nathan under threat of the death of his family. Cal's power-hungry nature got the better of him as he served time in the organization, and although he originally only joined to protect his family, he soon yearns for the power the plans would bring him. However, he sees the error of his ways when Arceus appears, realizing that Nathan would never relinquish power to him. He is currently serving a prison sentence

**Nathan (primary antagonist of Spirited and Free Spirits)  
><strong>A man that Sienna meets only a few times through the course of her journey, without realising who he really is. The first time she meets him, albeit briefly is in the chambers of Mt Chimney, is where Nikki's Magby burns his face when he attempts to stop them escaping. She runs into him again outside the Safari Zone gates where she recognises him and accuses him of working under her father. He laughs her off and easily defeats her, leaving Sienna wondering why he calls her naïve and insists she "doesn't understand". She meets him again in Lavaridge Pokemon centre where she successfully defeats him. Finally, his nature as the true leader of the organization comes to light when he captures Arceus. He is successfully stopped however. He is an intensely powerful Pokemon trainer, is originally from Unova and is apparently a notorious wanted criminal. By the end of Spirited, he is serving a long prison sentence.

**Helene Fontaine (secondary antagonist of Free Spirits)  
><strong>A mysterious woman who worked with Nathan while the two of them still worked in Team Plasma. She is an incredibly clever woman, a scientist by trade and with a collection of degrees and PHDs under her belt, and is also deemed to be an incredibly powerful trainer with a team of well-trained Unova Pokemon at her disposal. She was once in a romantic relationship with Nathan.

She, and her Pokemon team, still remain shrouded in mystery.

Now, onto the more serious stuff.

This expansion pack, as I like to call it, should attempt to fill in a few blanks, provide some interesting side-stories, some fluff, and give some more character development. From Nikki and Jasmine's journey to find Sienna, to greenhornshipping fluff, to Nathan's past and all other manner of one-shots and drabbles, there should be something for every Spirited reader to enjoy.

All suggestions and ideas for oneshots are more than welcome, will be considered and may even be written if I like the idea enough so please don't hesitate to tell me via review or PM anything you would like to know more about.

So coming up first:

Left Behind. A short story that chronicles Jasmine and Nikki's attempts to find Sienna, revealing the important moments over the four months, their struggles, their angst, their new friends and how they became even stronger, evolving into the Pokemon Trainers they appeared as in the four part ending. This story is set from directly after Riding Solo and concludes just before the start of Facing the Final Curtain Part I.

P.S Any help coming up with the name for this extension is more than appreciated. I'm reserving Free Spirits for the sequel name so yeah... help?


	2. Left Behind

"_Dear Nikki and Jasmine.  
><em>_I'm sorry, but I have to leave.  
><em>_I can't risk your safety anymore. You've both been hurt too badly because of me; it would be unfair for you two to put yourselves at risk any longer.  
><em>_Besides, I need to do this alone. This is my mess to deal with. I need to face my father and his actions by myself. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I just ask that you don't follow me.  
><em>_I need you both to stay where you are. You'll be safe in Lavaridge. Look after each other and keep each other safe.  
><em>_All my love,  
><em>_Sienna"_

When Nikki found that note lying idly on Sienna's bed, early on the same morning Sienna had left, she let out such a shriek of despair it almost woke the whole of the Pokemon Centre.

"Jasmine! Jasmine!" Nikki screamed hysterically, her whole body trembling and fear shooting through her veins as she looked at the hastily scrawled note in Sienna's familiar handwriting. "Wake up! Please!"

"What? What?" Jasmine snorted, almost comically, as she sat bolt upright in her bed, the quilts and sheets flying haphazardly everywhere.

Nikki was beyond saying anything by this point. Her words got caught in her throat whenever she tried to push them forward, so she could do nothing but throw the note in Jasmine's direction. Jasmine grabbed the note, looking wholly confused, and hastily unfolded the crumpled paper to read it. She studied it for a moment and her face fell completely for a second, sadness flashed across it, and then with a shout of rage, she threw the paper in anger across the room.

"The idiot! I _knew _she was going to do something like this!"

Nikki stopped. "You… you knew?" she shrieked hysterically.

"Well, I didn't _know, _but I had my suspicions!" Jasmine quickly corrected herself. "Dammit, like I said to you last night, she blames herself for everything that happened to us."

"So what? She just _left_?"

"It… it looks like it…" Jasmine ran her hands through her long blonde hair in disbelief. "I… I can't believe she did this…!"

"We need to go after her!" Nikki said at once, but as soon she tried to move across to Jasmine she let out a yelp of pain as she put weight on her leg. As she glanced down to her leg, bound in a stiff cast, it was like she was seeing it for the first time. Disbelief spread across her face and she looked helplessly at Jasmine.

Realization hit Jasmine like a punch in the face and she looked down to the bedclothes. When she spoke, her voice was strained, tinged with disappointment. "We can't…" she said the words with finality, shaking her head. "Your leg is broken… you need to rest. There's no way you can go chasing after her like this."

"But—!"

"Besides, we don't even know where she could have gone…"

"Mt Chimney!" Nikki cried at once. "Remember, she said she had seen her father there!"

The idea struck Jasmine and as she considered it, she brought her head up slowly to look at Nikki. "You know… you're right, actually. She said… she said she thinks her father may be the one who was leading all those weird men."

"The men who tried to take the Groudon…?"

She nodded, but then quickly she seemed to dismiss the idea and spoke almost flippantly. "Oh, come on though. Do you really think those men would go _back _to Mt Chimney so soon?" the tone of her voice suggested she really didn't think they would. "After what the Groudon did… it practically destroyed Mt Chimney… it's almost impossible to get up there on foot now. And what about all the trainers no doubt still poking around up there…Do you really think they'll go back? And that Sienna would _follow _them there?"

Nikki shook her head. "I… I don't know…b…but… I can't just sit here and do nothing! Not while Sienna is out there all alone…! Oh God…" she broke off as the finality and horror began to set in. "Sienna…" she began to sob, her whole body shaking.

"But Nikki," Jasmine appealed, trying to make her sobbing friend see even just a little bit of sense, even though she was just as distraught. "Look… even if she _did _go there, how can we get anywhere _near _Mt Chimney? Groudon destroyed it! There's no way we would be able to climb up there now, especially with your leg!"

"But she's our _friend_, Jasmine! We can't just… we can't just leave her…"

"I know, Nik, I know…" Jasmine said, shaking her head thoughtfully, feeling her own eyes well up with tears. "But even if she _is _there, how can we get up there? We can't go on foot; we'd need to _fly _there somehow! And I don't own any flying Pokemon."

"Neither do I…" Nikki said tearfully.

"Then who…?" Jasmine shook her head, at a loss. "Who do we know that has a Flying Pokemon big enough to carry us both…?"

At that point, both girls had a flash of inspiration. They looked up at each other and unanimously said one word and one word only.

"Flannery!"

* * *

><p>"You <em>are <em>kidding me. Right? You want to go _back _towards the fiery mountain of death that almost killed us all?"

"Flannery, please!" Nikki begged. "Sienna's disappeared! We think she may have gone _back _to Mt Chimney to look for her father! We need to go there and make sure she's okay!"

Flannery raised an eyebrow at the two girls in front of her. "How are you even sure that's where she's gone?"

"Where else _could _she be?" Jasmine asked at once.

"Listen, I'm not sure it's safe to go back there," Flannery sat down heavily in a chair to survey the two teenagers in front of her. "That Groudon… I mean… whatever reason it had to appear and practically ruin Mt Chimney," Jasmine and Nikki exchanged worried looks, they had their suspicions as to why, but they couldn't exactly say what they were. "…it must have been enraged. It may not have calmed down completely and even us just being there could anger it again… _What _Sienna's father and all those other people were even doing there in the first place to make it so angry I don't even know…" she eyed the girl with a suspicious air. "Do you…?"

"No," Jasmine said at once. "We don't."

An agreement had long been forged between Nikki and Jasmine that they wouldn't let on to what they thought was Sienna's father's plans and motives, as they weren't even sure themselves what was going on. For all they knew, Sienna could be wrong. What they had been doing down there wasn't _necessarily _a plot to capture the legendary Pokemon, and neither of the girls wanted to cause unnecessary panic. Even Flannery wasn't keen to let on to anyone that Groudon had appeared, knowing full well the attention a sighting of a supposed Legendary Pokemon would bring.

"But you were caught by the men there…? Surely you know why…?"

"We don't!" Nikki came out with a far more convincing lie than Jasmine ever could have expected of her. "They… they could have been doing _anything _down there…"

"I see your point," Flannery sighed, folding her arms and bowing her head. "So… Sienna really thinks her father was involved with the people abducting the locals?"

"Yes!" Nikki and Jasmine said together.

Flannery thought about it for a moment. "I suppose we never did catch those responsible for abducting those people. Perhaps it _would _be in our best interests to scout the area and see what is what."

Nikki and Jasmine exchanged triumphant looks.

"I'll get Charizard," Flannery said at once. "Meet me outside the gym in five minutes. Got it?"

"Got it!" the two girls replied unanimously.

"Oh my Arceus… look at this place…" Jasmine breathed out, slipping down from Charizard's back and darting her head around.

"It's completely destroyed…" Nikki finished for her, in awe.

The whole of Mt Chimney was completely and utterly in disarray. The mouth of the volcano had been completely sealed up by lava that was still not completely dry and still radiated heat. Everything had been ripped apart or scarred by earthquakes or lava, cracks zigzagged everywhere the three girls looked, rocks and debris were littered everywhere. It was even worse on the main body of the volcano. Jagged Pass had been completely devastated. The girls knew straight away that there was no way they could have made it without the help of Flannery's Charizard.

Nikki was still astride the Charizard, barely able to move due to her broken leg. She found herself taking in everything around her, scanning every single inch of terrain she had in her sights, looking for Sienna.

"Any sign of her?" Flannery asked, dismounting Charizard and joining Jasmine.

Whilst Nikki surveyed the surrounding area from atop Charizard's back, Flannery and Jasmine proceed to pick around in the plateau, looking for any signs of life. But there was nothing. All the surrounding greenery had been devastated by the molten magma. Not even a stray Pokemon crossed their paths. They couldn't even _hear _any cries of Pokemon. The trainers that had contained the lava and eruption the previous day had long since left, and the place was utterly deserted. Jasmine had almost half expected there to be a faceless, black uniformed man, or even a collection of them still hanging around, but there was nothing. In fact, were it not for the lazy movement of the clouds and the thin biting breeze nipping at their skin, Jasmine would have thought time had altogether stopped.

After half an hour of poking around and staring down the face of Mt Chimney, Jasmine eventually and reluctantly had to admit defeat.

"She's not here."

Nikki looked like she was going to burst into tears, even though she had thought the same the moment they had touched on the ground. "But if she's not here… then… then where _is _she? Where else could she have gone?"

"Listen…" Flannery said delicately, interjecting herself into the conversation. "Perhaps the reason you haven't found your friend is simply because she doesn't _want _to be found. Maybe you should just leave her to whatever it is she needs to do."

"We can't do that," Jasmine said at once. "Sienna's our friend. And I know Sienna… right now she's probably hurt and angry and not thinking right. She could do anything…"

"We need to find her!" Nikki reiterated tearfully.

"Well, it's clear you won't find her here…" Flannery said with a sigh. "Listen, I think if Sienna really has run off to look for her father, she will have left Lavaridge. Those people that were up at Mt Chimney would have left long ago as soon as that Groudon appeared. Sienna probably knew that and went after them."

"Maybe…" Jasmine said noncommittally. While it was true that Sienna definitely was not here on Mt Chimney, she didn't want to admit that if your goal was to capture a legendary Pokemon, you definitely wouldn't _leave _the place where it lived, even after a failed attempt.

"I don't think I can help you anymore," Flannery said gravely. "My town needs me. My priority is to help rebuild and get all the townspeople safe again. But like I said, you two should leave here and search for Sienna in other places. Perhaps start in the next town over, in Fallarbor. It's very close to Mt Chimney, so who knows? Those people may have fled there as it's the closest place to here."

As much as Jasmine and Nikki both didn't want to leave, what Flannery had said had proved true. Sienna's father and those men certainly weren't here now, and neither was Sienna. While Jasmine was worried that it was a good possibility that Sienna, or the masked men, had simply hidden out somewhere in Lavaridge, she realised very quickly that Lavaridge was a small town that now lay in ruins. There was no way they could attempt to hide there right now. Flannery was right. Sienna probably _had _left. And if they wanted any chance of catching up to her and finding her, they had to leave right now.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Jasmine said firmly. "Wherever Sienna is, she's not here."

Nikki nodded silently from the back of Charizard, and when she spoke, she startled Flannery who had altogether forgotten she was there. "Maybe going to look in a different place is the best idea right now…" she said hoarsely.

Flannery nodded her approval. "Very well. Fallarbor Town it is, then. I'll take you both over there on Charizard," she broke apart from Jasmine, ran over to Charizard and hopped up, motioning for Jasmine to do the same. "Who knows, maybe you can head her off."

"Thank you, Flannery." Jasmine said gratefully.

"No problem," Flannery said flashing her a smile, before her entire face and voice softened again and she spoke humbly. "I just hope you kids find what you're looking for."

"Yeah… we do too." Jasmine said sadly, casting one last look out at the ruined Lavaridge Town in the distance, letting out a long sigh.

"_Sienna… where are you_?"

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Nikki and Jasmine touched down in Fallarbor Town. After the girls dismounted from Charizard, they stopped to exchange words with Flannery. Before departing to go back to Lavaridge Town, Flannery decided to give both Nikki and Jasmine her contact number, making them promise to get in touch with her as soon as they heard anything. After numbers had been exchanged and good wishes bid, Flannery flew off with Charizard. Both girls felt a little sad as they watched the Lavaridge gym leader fly off into the distance. They watched the tiny speck that was Flannery and Charizard grow smaller and smaller until it eventually disappeared.<p>

Once Flannery had disappeared from their sight, Jasmine suddenly realised that she and Nikki were on their own now. It was their responsibility to find Sienna, and theirs only. They had to find her, and they had to find her soon. But Jasmine knew it would be difficult in more ways than one, especially when she cast an eye over Nikki, who was struggling to even stand with her injured, bound up leg and all her bags and items.

"Come on, then…" Jasmine said to Nikki, helping her get into a secure position with her crutches and bags. "Let's go find Sienna, okay?"

Nikki nodded determinedly. "Yes!"

But their determination, as strong and powerful as it was, proved to be fruitless for the task ahead of them. Nikki's injury proved to be far too challenging for her to do much of anything, and after only a short time searching she was in too much pain to continue. Distraught that her injury was stopping them from finding Sienna, Nikki became hysterical and it took Jasmine almost an hour to convince Nikki that Sienna wouldn't like to see her injuring herself any further on her behalf. This eventually calmed Nikki down enough for her to (reluctantly) agree to hold off the search until her leg healed.

The weeks it took for Nikki's leg to heal were excruciating for her. She hated sitting around waiting, not being able to walk any more than a few paces, and unable to even _look _for Sienna. But what could she do? She could barely even walk under her own power without risking damaging her leg further, or even permanently. But what could they do? Neither Nikki nor Jasmine had Flying Pokemon to take them around, or even a Pokemon they could ride on. It was too far to go back to Lavaridge, Flannery had already said she couldn't leave her Gym to help them any longer, and there was next to no public transport between Fallarbor and _anywhere_ else. Nikki wasn't up to making the journey anywhere. So what could they do…?

What else _could _they do?

They trained.

Sienna had made no secret of how powerful a trainer her father was. It was this that prompted Jasmine to suggest that if they were going to be stuck the best thing to do was to train up their Pokemon as best they could, just in case they would ever have to battle him or anyone that was a part of his organization. Thankfully, with a battle tent situated right in the heart of Fallarbor that attracted trainers from all over Hoenn, battling to gain experience was not a problem. As a tag team, the two went almost undefeated, and with every pair of trainers they defeated, their Pokemon gained experience and became stronger and stronger. And with trainers from all over the region and beyond, it was a perfect opportunity to quiz every one they met if they knew or had seen someone named Sienna Volbeda. Unfortunately, every trainer they spoke to had no knowledge of anyone of that name and moved on without giving any useful information.

However, the five weeks of constant training did wonders for Nikki and Jasmine's Pokemon. By the time Nikki's leg was completely healed and the cast was ready to come off, there had been no less than _four _evolutions amongst their teams. Nikki's Charmander, Blaze, had been the first one and had evolved from a tiny Charmander into a powerful Charmeleon. He was followed closely by Heather, Jasmine's Bulbasaur who evolved into an Ivysaur. Following on from that came another of Jasmine's Pokemon, her Cyndaquil Sulphur who swiftly became a Quilava right in the middle of battle, allowing him to clinch a particularly hard won victory! Then finally, only a few days later, another of Jasmine's team, determined not to be left out, evolved. This time, Terra the Sandshrew became Terra the Sandslash!

Literally on the day Nikki had been able to remove her cast, she and Jasmine, walking back from the local doctor's, saw an advert for a contest being held in the battle tent. The prizes on offer, amongst a host of other goodies, were a selection of evolutionary stones for the winner. Nikki, seeing the advert for the contest was instantly enthralled. She had always wanted to take part in contests, and now faced with the opportunity right in front of her; she didn't want to pass it up. She found herself standing at the flyer for a full ten minutes, just letting her mind wander about the possibilities of entering. The exhilarating rush as she stepped out on the stage… the beauty of her Pokemon's moves dazzling the crowds… the glory of doing well… For Nikki, it was like a dream come true.

With evolutionary stones, including the Moon Stone that Jasmine so eagerly desired to evolve her Skitty, as prizes, Jasmine wasted no time in encouraging her friend to take part.

"It's what you want to do, Nikki! You've always talked about taking part in contests! You can take off a few extra days to take part in this."

"But Sienna… we've wasted enough time just hanging around here doing nothing… we need to go and find her."

"Nikki… it's two days. Nothing is going to happen in two days. Besides, look at the prizes! Evolutionary stones! And all those other things too! The TM and everything! They'd be brilliant to help us and our Pokemon."

"But I can't even guarantee you I'll win…" Nikki whispered softly. "I've never done a contest before…"

"Nikki… you gotta be in it to win it." Jasmine said firmly. "You never know unless you try. Come on, go for it!"

Nikki gave in. "Okay. Okay, I'll try…"

After being suitably convinced by her friend, and as the thought of entering started to think in, Nikki became ardently excited and at the same time, horribly nervous. While Nikki switched between panicking and getting excited, Jasmine found it hilarious that someone as shy and timid as Nikki had the dream of going on stage in front of hundreds of people and having to order her Pokemon to execute moves and battle for the whole word to see and judge and criticize. The sweet, shy, demure Nikki didn't seem to fit with the stereotypical flashy, egotistical, show-offy people that normally entered those things…

It didn't seem to bother Nikki however as she quickly obtained a contest pass and swiftly began working on her moveset. It was easy for her to decide she was going to use her trusted Vulpix Dixie, as she was most confident with the beauty and finesse of Dixie's battling style.

In the two days before the contest was due to begin, Nikki trained night and day with Dixie, perfecting an entrance and working on the best way to present her moves. Jasmine watched their training like a hawk, acting like a makeshift judge, attempting to the best of her ability to point out imperfections. Nikki revelled in the idea of taking part in a contest for the first time, and she had no problem coming up with ideas and ways to present her Pokemon, as she had entertained thoughts and rehearsed everything she wanted to do in a contest for years. She was so happy she was finally able to make this a reality.

Before Nikki knew it, the day of the contest had arrived and she soon found herself standing in her finery atop a stage in the Fallarbor battle tent. Nerves ate at her relentlessly as she watched the crowd, under their scrutiny and waited for the judge to announce her name, giving her the cue to go on stage and present herself and Dixie for the Appeals round. While Nikki panicked internally, Dixie sat calmly at her trainer's feet, a cute cream bow tied around her neck, perfectly matching the simple cream dress Nikki was wearing.

Before she knew it, Nikki's name had been called and she had no choice but to walk out onto the stage. She was terrified at first, but as soon as the appreciative crowd caught sight of the well-groomed, beautiful Vulpix at her feet, she began to relax. Their cheers rang in her ears and she quickly put Dixie to work, getting ready to show off what they had practiced for so long.

"Let's dazzle them with Sunny Day!"

Sunny Day was a move that Dixie had recently picked up, and its execution sent powerful beams of golden sunlight across the stage, highlighting the vibrant red and orange hues of Dixie's fur, making her almost gleam and sparkle in the sun's rays. The audience let out appreciative sounds at this display as the sun beamed across their vision.

Nikki smiled to herself. Dixie had executed that perfectly.

"Follow it up with Fire Spin!"

"Pix!"

At Nikki's command, Dixie let out a powerful stream of brilliant fire that whipped around her in a perfect, rotating spiral. From her place in the audience, Jasmine gasped, wondering how on earth little Dixie had all of a sudden become so powerful!

"_Of course!_" the answer came to her immediately. "_It's Sunny Day! Sunny Day makes all Fire attacks even more powerful! Jeez, Nikki… even _I _have to admit that's a clever strategy! When did you think this up?"_

"Now, quickly! Will O' Wisp!"

As the Fire Spin still spread and burned around the stage, Dixie quickly drew back and fired off a circle of mysterious purple flames that floated around Dixie's head, gaining speed. They hovered there for a moment, encircling her, whilst the audience sat in complete silence, totally transfixed by the unusual, spellbinding move. The circle of flames then sped away to join the stream of red fire. When the two collided, they exploded together, and seconds later, beautiful balls of flaming purple and red fire began raining down all around the stage.

"Like we practiced, Dixie! Use Quick Attack to run around the flames!"

"Pix! Vul! Vul!"

With surprising agility, Dixie sped across the stage, darting expertly in and out of the raining flames. She came to a perfect stop just as the last flame hit the ground and dropped down into an elegant little bow.

The crowd went absolutely wild.

Nikki stood there, blushing ferociously as the audience roared all around her. Dixie dashed to her trainer's side, launching herself into her arms and began licking her face excitedly. Jasmine whooped and yelled her support, trying to make as much noise as possible for her friend. In face of all the appreciative cheering, Nikki couldn't even hide the wide beaming smile that spread across her face as she cuddled her little fox Pokemon close.

* * *

><p>"<em>Please be there… please be there… please be there<em>!" Jasmine pleaded inwardly as the scoreboard began lighting up with the photos of the trainers who could carry on to the next round, the battling round.

But as the photos lit up, one after another, Jasmine let out a roar of triumph when she saw Nikki's photo appear almost right at the beginning. From her place on the stage Nikki blushed fiercely and whispered something to her Vulpix, who promptly went wild in Nikki's arms, struggling to get free, yipping happily and smothering her trainer's face in licks.

As relieved as she was to see her friend through to the next round, Jasmine didn't relax just yet. The most difficult part was about to begin. The battle rounds. Jasmine knew her friend wasn't a particularly enthusiastic battler, choosing only to battle when it was absolutely necessary. So, Jasmine found herself worrying as soon as it was Nikki's turn to battle, especially as she had seen first hand some of her friend's (powerful) competition.

But, as it turned out, Jasmine quickly found out she didn't have much of a cause to worry at all. Nikki, although timid and shy and uncertain when it came to battling real trainers somehow managed to pull it out of the bag for contest battling! She and Dixie, although they began with a shaky start, were quickly wiping out the competition with elegant, well timed moves executed with stylish, practiced ease. Jasmine could barely believe it as she watched each one of Nikki's opponent's points total dwindle right in front of her eyes, time after time. With shining commentary from the judges, Nikki was sailing through each and every round right up until the grand final.

"_I can't believe this." _Jasmine thought to herself as Nikki was announced as a finalist, with only one battle separating her from winning the whole contest. "_I knew Nikki was good when I saw her practicing with Dixie but I never thought she would be _this _good! She could win this! She really really could!_"

"_All right Nikki, just stay calm…_" Nikki thought to herself as she entered the stage for the final time to face her last competition. "_You've done well to get this far… just stay calm._"

Nikki's final opponent was a well known seasoned veteran of contests, rumoured to have almost twenty ribbons in his possession from all over Hoenn and Sinnoh. She was facing a young man in his early twenties, dressed up to the nines in a white tuxedo, a cape billowing around him and a top hat jauntily finishing off his look. A Beautifly hovered by his side, floating almost lazily yet elegantly through the air. Nikki swallowed nervously. The judges and commentators had been hailing her as "an amazing talent that had come from nowhere" with "great promise" and "remarkable skills", but she found herself trembling in the face of this man. She remembered how inexperienced she really was. This was her first contest, and she had done so well already! She couldn't really expect to win against this man! It was then that she resigned herself to the fact that she would be happy even if she didn't win. She had come so far and had so much to be proud of already. Even if she didn't win, she had done so much… it really wouldn't matter if she didn't win…

As if she had read her mind, Nikki suddenly heard Jasmine's loud, brash voice echo across an almost silent arena. "COME ON NIKKI! BEAT HIM INTO THE GROUND!"

"_Oh God…_" Nikki cringed inwardly, as the man raised his eyebrow inquiringly at her.

The announcer shushed the crowd (primarily Jasmine) and introduced both Nikki and her competitor to them. He then stepped back from the stage. The final battle was ready to begin.

"Competitors, lets get ready to battle!"

"_Here we go…_!" Nikki thought nervously.

"And… begin!"

* * *

><p>"Nikki, my friend. You are a <em>marvel<em>."

Nikki giggled in an embarrassed fashion. "Well, you know…"

"I can't believe you beat that guy! And won that contest! I mean, on your first time, too! Jeez, I hate to admit it, but you've got one hell of a future in contests."

Nikki smiled again, not really sure what to say. Her heart swelled with pride in the face of her victory. It was a narrow victory admittedly, but a victory all the same. She rolled the collection of evolutionary stones, the envelope containing the prize money and the TM in her hands. Dixie ran around the Pokemon Centre room, yipping excitedly, Nikki's shiny new ribbon pinned onto her bow. Nikki looked through the evolutionary stones, seeing what she had won. A Water Stone, a Fire Stone, a Thunder Stone and a Moon Stone. Her hands lingered over the Moon Stone before she picked it up and held it out to Jasmine.

Jasmine looked at the proffered stone, dumbfounded. "Really…?" she asked softly.

Nikki nodded. "As thanks for everything you did."

"Gee… thanks Nik," she said, taking it gratefully, staring at the dark, sparkling stone in her hands. A strange thought occurred to her as she looked deep into the inky blackness of the stone. "You know… it's funny…"

"What is…?"

"I said one time to Sienna that I would never evolve my Pokemon,"

"Really?"

"Yeah… I hated the idea of my Pokemon changing. But look at me now. Sulphur, Terra and Heather have all evolved and I'm fine with it, for some strange reason…"

"They were just _ready _to evolve." Nikki said, picking up an excited Dixie. "Like Dixie. I know she's ready to evolve. She's been ready for a long time. But with Pokemon that evolve by stones, it's not always as easy…"

Jasmine looked intently at the moon stone glimmering in her hands. "I wonder if Skittle is ready to evolve…"

Nikki looked at her friend, catching her gaze. She shrugged. "Why don't you find out?"

Jasmine plucked Skittle's Pokeball from her belt and stared at it for a long time, thinking hard about the decision she was currently faced with. Was it really fair for Skittle to be denied the opportunity to evolve and get stronger like the other Pokemon just because Jasmine wasn't willing to let her Pokemon change so drastically? But then again, just because she had the Moon Stone now didn't mean she had to _use _it now, did she? Jasmine let out a sigh and released Skittle.

"What do you think, Skittle? Do you want to evolve?"

Skittle said nothing and wound his way around Jasmine's feet, purring happily. Jasmine let out an exasperated sigh before stroking her beloved Pokemon's head. "You know, you're not making this any easier for me…"

Skittle's response at her trainer's angst was to simply meow in her face.

* * *

><p>The next few months passed in a blur of fierce training and contests. Nikki participated in every contest she came across, and although she didn't win every single one, she was soon finding a prowess and building a reputation for herself in the contest circuit. Dixie, a newly evolved Ninetails, was a formidable opponent both on the battlefield and in contests, and now that every Pokemon on Jasmine's team had evolved, the two girls were feeling satisfied with their progress. Well, at least on the Pokemon front. Almost three and half months had passed since the night Sienna had disappeared, but they had still not found her. Tension was running high and with every passing day, the girls became less and less optimistic about ever finding their friend.<p>

However, unbeknownst to her friends, Sienna was actually safe and well, training day and night and flitting between Lilycove and Sootopolis. Nikki and Jasmine on the other hand were completely on the wrong side of the region, and weren't even _close _to finding her. Currently, their location stood at just outside Oldale Town, which was about as far away from Sootopolis as you could get.

As the two girls saw the town appearing just off in the distance, they both sighed with relief. They had been travelling non-stop for almost a week now with no rests in comfortable cities or towns. Their Pokemon were exhausted, as they had seen their fair share of tough trainers on the move, and the girls were almost dropping from tiredness.

"We're almost there," Jasmine took a moment to stop and stretch her weary body as they rounded the corner and the entrance to the town beckoned invitingly to them.

"Thank… thank goodness…" Nikki puffed, struggling to catch her breath.

But no sooner had they entered Oldale town the two girls were cut off by a pair of travelling trainers just leaving from the Pokemon Centre. Both of them were boys, maybe a year or so older than the girls, were dressed in dark suits and brightly coloured ties, and had a string of Pokeballs dangling from the bags they had slung around their shoulders. They were both good looking boys and walked with a defined swagger, like they owned the place.

"_They look rich…_" Jasmine thought to herself darkly. "_Please don't speak to us… please don't speak to us…"_

"Hey," one of them called to the girls.

"_Shoot._"

The one that was speaking had a silky, cultured voice hinting at a privileged background, but his long black hair pulled back into a shaggy ponytail, a crooked tie and scuffed shoes seemed to suggest something else entirely. "You are both Pokemon trainers, right?" he asked, looking the two girls up and down.

"Oh brilliant…" Jasmine sighed haughtily. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Me and my brother here want a match against some decent trainers," he said with a wicked grin on his face.

"And what makes you think we're "decent" trainers…?" Jasmine muttered traitorously, but before she could speak up, the other boy had suddenly cut in.

"Christian, look! That's the contest girl!" the second boy, almost identical to the first but with immaculate hair, shoes and clothes, pulled at his brother's arm, pointing a finger in Nikki's direction. "The one who's always on the TV!"

"Oh… yeah, you're right…" the one called Christian said thoughtfully, eyeing Nikki up and down in a manner that made her blush fiercely. "Nikki Harper, right?"

Nikki couldn't help but squeak out. "Y…yes! That's right… But how did you—?"

"You're making quite a reputation for yourself in the contest circuit," Christian smiled, walking up to Nikki and holding out his hand. "The name's Christian Hart."

Nikki squeaked and shook the boy's large hand, unsure of what to do.

"This is my twin brother, Gabriel." Christian smiled, throwing his thumb over his shoulder to indicate him.

"_Christian _and _Gabriel_?" Jasmine thought in disbelief. "_That's gotta be a joke… imagine all the teasing those poor boys must go through…_"

"Ni…nice to meet you…" Nikki murmured shyly.

The other boy, Gabriel, waved jovially at her, before coming to stand next to his brother. Nikki suddenly remembering her manners glanced at Jasmine nervously. "Oh… this is my friend… Jasmine Moore."

"Pleasure," Jasmine said at once, cutting off anything either boy could say to her.

Gabriel winced at Jasmine's snappy tone, but Christian appeared to take it in his stride. A good-natured smile spread over his face as he spread his arms innocently. "So, what about that battle then, ladies?"

Nikki looked at Jasmine as if asking her permission. Jasmine let out a sigh, knowing full well Nikki would be devastated if she didn't get a chance to battle these boys, especially since she had noticed Nikki was even _more _timid and shy around the one called Christian. That could only mean she was already beginning to harbour something of a soft spot for him. Jasmine's life wouldn't be worth living if Nikki didn't get this chance. "Okay, fine. We can spare the time."

"Excellent," Christian grinned. "So, how about we make it a tag battle? Two Pokemon to each side?"

"Fine with me. Nikki?"

"Yes!" she squeaked, too loudly and too quickly.

"Okay, so this will be a two on two tag battle with no time limit and no substitutions," Gabriel reiterated, taking a stance.

"Fine, let's just get it over with." Jasmine said, sounding decidedly bored.

"Then we'll pick first, if you don't mind," Christian flashed a dazzling grin in their direction. He unhooked a Pokeball from his waist and threw it. Gabriel followed his brother's example and also loosed a Pokeball.

In front of both girls appeared two Pokemon they both knew to be native to Hoenn. Gabriel's Pokemon was a Sableye, whilst Christian released a Grovyle. What Nikki and Jasmine knew about Hoenn Pokemon was pretty limited but they had a good strategy to deal with this battle. Both girls exchanged looks, as if reading each other's minds, before letting out their own Pokemon.

"I choose Dixie!"

"Let's go, Skittle!"

As the failsafe Ninetails and Delcatty double team burst onto the scene, a look of unmitigated excitement passed across Christian's face as he looked upon the glossy Ninetails standing in its battle stance facing him. He smiled gleefully as he looked from Dixie and then back to Nikki.

"I can't believe it. Your Ninetails is even more beautiful in person."

This sent a shock through Jasmine. "_Is this weirdo for real_?"

"I really never thought I would get to see this amazing Pokemon in real life," Christian continued with another grin. "You've done an excellent job with her ever since you entered your first contest with her as a Vulpix."

Whilst Nikki could only blush in the face of this compliment, Jasmine freaked out and barked at the boy. "What the hell is wrong with you! Are you _stalking _Nikki or something?"

"I'm just a fan," Christian deflected smoothly with a grin. "For someone who knows the ins and outs of contests like I do, it's easy to see this girl has a future in them."

Nikki blushed furiously again, but Jasmine was beginning to tire of this whole thing. "Creep," she muttered under her breath before adopting her battle stance again. "Come on, let's battle already!"

"You got it," Christian said with a cheeky wink. "All right Grovyle! Start this off with a Leaf Blade on the Delcatty!"

"Sableye, get in there with Fake Out!"

No sooner had the pair of brothers called out their attacks; both girls had come up with a counter-strategy and shouted their own commands.

"Quick, Skittle! Use Charm!"

"And Dixie, use Fire Spin!"

Before either Gabriel's Sableye or Christian's Grovyle could even execute their attacks, Skittle darted forward on his strong, agile limbs to get right in front of both Pokemon. Facing them, Skittle let out an enticing growl, wagging his tail back and forward cutely. Both the Sableye and Grovyle stopped dead in its tracks at Skittle's display. Whilst the Sableye remained completely transfixed by Skittle's antics, the Grovyle seemed to shake itself off and reaffirm its sights on the Delcatty.

But as soon as the Grovyle charged forwards towards the unsuspecting Skittle, Dixie got right in on the act. Darting forward lithely on her long limbs like she had been trained to do for contests, she launched herself up in the air, twisted her body around and shot out a spiralling stream of blazing hot fire. The flames twisted with furious strength and speed into the Grovyle's body and it let out a shriek of pain as the fire scorched its delicate body. It stumbled backwards, whimpering.

"Oh, no! Grovyle!" Christian called with a hint of panic in his voice. Once making sure his Pokemon was okay, he raised his head to meet Nikki's gaze again. "My God… not only a simply stunning move, but it packs a punch…"

Nikki smiled triumphantly to herself, quickly switching back into her contest mode and getting ready to pull off the final move. "All right Dixie, let's finish this with a Quick Attack!"

"Nine!" Dixie howled, before her body became nothing but a cream blur, speeding straight towards the motionless Grovyle. The burned Pokemon couldn't even move to evade. Dixie's attack was a direct hit.

Nikki turned just in time to see Jasmine make short work of Gabriel's Sableye with a powerful Doubleslap and then finally dispatching it with a well aimed Sing, sending the Pokemon into a deep slumber.

Christian raised his hand in acknowledge of their defeat, before recalling his Grovyle. His brother despondently recalled his Sableye and let out a resigned sigh. Gabriel, irritated at their defeat at the hands of the girls, kicked the ground sulkily, but a wide beaming smile spread across Christian's face. He strode up to the girls looking pleased as punch.

"You two are strong trainers," he complimented them with a winning smile, but he was speaking more to Nikki than the two of them together. This infuriated Jasmine greatly and she felt like the boy wasn't even aware of her existence. She compensated by crossing her arms firmly and looking pointedly away from him. Christian still had that annoying smile plastered across his face. "I can see now why Nikki wins so many contests."

"Please… I'm not that good…" Nikki said modestly.

"But you are, my dear, you are." Christian grinned. "I've followed you through every contest you've competed in. I think you have a real shot at the championships,"

"_Stalker!_" Jasmine screamed inwardly, but stayed quiet.

"Well thank you…" Nikki blushed. "But… but I have something else I need to do before I can think about any more contests…"

Jasmine firmly nodded her approval.

"Oh, really…?" Christian sounded disappointed. "What do you have to do that's more important than the contest circuit…?"

"I… I have to find my friend that disappeared…" Nikki said without thinking. She then looked horrified and clamped her hand over her mouth, realising her mistake.

From next to her, Jasmine slammed the palm of her hand into the centre of her forehead in a perfect example of a facepalm. She cursed to herself, Nikki was shy and timid enough that she was likely to accidentally reveal things _anyway _if she was pressed, but in this face of this Christian boy who professed to being a fan _and _who Jasmine was convinced Nikki was smitten with, she was completely hopeless. "Nikki!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Sorry…" Nikki murmured apologetically.

"Never mind, the Meowth's out of the bag now…" Jasmine said with a haughty sigh, but then she looked straight at the Hart brothers. "Don't suppose you know our friend? Her name's Sienna Volbeda, she's got red hair, bit shorter than us and walks around with a Mareep all the time?"

"I think I would remember someone like that," Gabriel interjected.

"Shut up! What are you trying to say!" Jasmine demanded immediately, making Gabriel jump almost six feet backwards with the intensity of her shout.

"Easy, easy," Christian said lightly. "I'm sorry; we haven't seen your missing friend…"

"No, it's okay…" Jasmine sighed; she was starting to feel like this whole situation was hopeless.

The latest disappointment in their search proved to be too much from Nikki and she immediately had to fight to keep back tears. Seeing the telltale signs her friend was getting upset, Jasmine quickly put an arm around her and murmured some reassuring words to her. In front of them, both Christian and Gabriel's faces softened.

"How long has she been missing…?" Christian asked softly.

"Th…three months…" Nikki sniffed.

"Oh my…" Christian murmured, then walked up and placed a hand on Nikki's shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll find her, okay?" he said kindly. "Everything will be fine."

Jasmine managed a chuckle. "Well, thanks…"

"Thank you," Nikki whispered.

Christian smiled at them both, before turning back to Gabriel. The two exchanged quiet words for a second, before Christian returned his attention to the two girls. "Listen, as much as I'd love to stay chatting to you lovely ladies," Jasmine resisted the urge to retch whilst Nikki fought back a blush. "Me and my brother have gotta keep moving just now. But if we hear anything about your friend, do you want us to give you a call?"

"Yes! Yes please!" Nikki said at once.

"All right," Christian whipped out his mobile phone and punched both Nikki's and Jasmine's numbers into it from their dictation. He then recited his number for Nikki and Jasmine to copy down.

With numbers loaded into their phones, the two pairs of teenagers prepared to say their goodbyes. Christian gave both girls a hug in turn, much to Jasmine's ardent surprise and Nikki's intense embarrassment, and then bid them good luck for their quest.

"Let me know what happens, okay?" he grinned warmly. "And when you find your friend, I can't wait to see you back doing what you love again. Let me know, okay?"

"Sure…" Nikki grinned, blushing fiercely.

"Awesome," the boy smiled once again, before he began to walk away, his brother following them. "Well, we'll see you again someday. Okay? That's a promise."

"That's a promise…" Nikki echoed softly.

"See you soon," Christian waved, as they slowly began to walk down the path.

"Later!" Gabriel called.

"Bye!" Both Nikki and Jasmine shouted after them, waving until they disappeared around the corner and from their eyesight.

Jasmine let her arm fall to her side as soon as the two boys disappeared from their sight and earshot. "That… that was _weird_!"

Nikki almost fell over at Jasmine's outburst. "N…no! They… they seemed nice!"

"Really… "nice" is the word you would use?" Jasmine raised an eyebrow at her. "That Christian practically _admitted _he stalked you! And for all they talked about wanting a "decent battle" they were both totally hopeless! And as for that Gabriel… in fact, who in the name of Arceus calls their sons Christian and Gabriel! Is their mother _insane_?"

Nikki let her friend rant on, her eyes fixed firmly on the horizon as if she was hoping to catch some glimpse of the brothers. "It's funny though… I think I recognise the name Christian Hart…"

"Are you serious…?" Jasmine let out a sigh.

"I don't know where I've heard it though…" Nikki said thoughtfully.

"It's an unusual enough name; you'd think you would remember…"

"Yeah, you'd think…"

Jasmine sighed again. "Does it matter? Come on, let's get to Oldale Centre. We've wasted enough time around here as it is."

"R… right!"

And with that, the two girls scurried back into Oldale Town, but as was to be expected, Nikki's mind was awash with thoughts of the strange boy she had just met, wondering if he really would call and if they really _would _meet again one day.

* * *

><p>Another month came and went and their search still remained futile. Much to Jasmine's annoyance and Nikki's delight, the Christian Hart boy phoned every week to check in with the girls and see how their search was doing. He never reported seeing Sienna, but it was clear he was concerned about the two girls, Nikki felt. The third time he phoned, Nikki finally got the courage to ask where she had heard his name before. From the other end of the phone, Christian laughed modestly.<p>

"Well… I'm kinda famous over in Sinnoh, you know?"

"Really…?" Nikki asked, cradling the phone to her ear, as Jasmine sighed in the background, making a point to stare out at the dark skies out the window. "How come?"

"For the same thing you are," Nikki could _hear _the grin in his voice as he spoke. "I'm involved in Contests in Sinnoh. Actually… I'm Grand Champion… and I have been for two years running now."

Nikki almost dropped the phone. "Are you sure?" she shrieked, and it was only after she said it that she realised how stupid she was.

Christian roared with laughter. "Yes, I'm pretty sure Nikki!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I was just shocked!" she babbled. "I never thought… oh my God…" realization kicked in as she became aware of how close she had been to one of the most skilled and experienced contest battlers she had ever heard of. "I… I guess I know why I've heard your name now…"

"It also explains why I knew all about you." Christian continued. "As a champion, we always hear about all the new talent that arrive in all contest halls, regardless of regions."

"Oh I see…" Nikki blushed. "That's… that's pretty cool…"

Jasmine shook her head at her friend, curled up on her bed with the phone, speaking like a lovesick Growlithe. She fought the desire to throw a pillow at her. She supposed she shouldn't get _too _angry at Nikki for speaking to Christian, it seemed like the phone calls she received from him were the only things keeping her from going insane in the face of their search. Nikki had been stressing herself out, fretting, fussing, becoming hysterical at the drop of a hat and was altogether desperate to find Sienna. The only time Jasmine caught a glance of her acting like a normal teenager was when she was on the phone to Christian. So, she let Nikki have this one thing, even though it did her head in every time it happened.

Jasmine cast her mind back over the past four months of searching. They had had less than no luck when it came to looking for Sienna, she had seemed to evade them no matter where they had gone. Their search had taken them to almost every town, village and city in Hoenn, apart from what few places lay in the far east. Whilst Jasmine wondered if perhaps Sienna had just gone east to places like Lilycove and Sootopolis, she was still not a hundred percent convinced that Sienna had even _left _Lavaridge. She hated not knowing. She hated the thought of Sienna out there on her own with only her Pokemon for protection, especially if she was going chasing after those madmen that had been there at Mt Chimney. It was too dangerous for her! She could get herself hurt or even killed! Damn her! Damn it all! Jasmine punched the pillow feebly, suddenly feeling like she wanted to cry. For all they knew, Sienna could be lying hurt or even dead somewhere whilst the two of them were stuck in Littleroot town, none the wiser.

"_I hate this…_!"

But then, just as Jasmine said that, her phone began to ring.

She sat up, confused, wondering who on earth would be phoning her. She grabbed her phone and studied the caller ID. But as soon as she read the name of who was phoning her, she almost threw the phone across the room in her shock.

Quickly, she slammed the "accept call" button and raised the phone to her ear. "HELLO!" she bellowed down the phone.

"There's no need to shout, Jasmine." The familiar voice said, sounding angry.

"I'm so sorry, Flannery, I just—!"

"It doesn't matter." Flannery said firmly. "Listen, we have something very important to tell you right now."

"What…?" Jasmine said softly, suddenly terrified of what Flannery was about to say.

"We've found Sienna."

Jasmine almost dropped the phone in her shock. "You've… you've _what_?"

"We've found her." Flannery repeated. "She's in Sootopolis City."

"Sootopolis?" Jasmine repeated shrilly.

"Yes. She's safe. For now. She's with Wallace the Gym Leader, and I'm going to be joining them very soon. But that's not the issue right now. We have a problem."

Jasmine was suddenly aware that Nikki had hung up the phone and was gaping at Jasmine in shock. Jasmine quickly pressed the speakerphone and Flannery's voice was then echoing around the tiny room.

"It's come to our attention that the men who were at Mt Chimney all those months ago were attempting to bring the Legendary Pokemon Groudon under their control. The man who appears to be in charge is Sienna's father." Jasmine found herself wincing as the information she and Nikki had been privy to all this time was being relayed back to them so matter-of-factly. "But that isn't all."

"Then what is…?" Jasmine asked worriedly.

"Sienna has learned that her father and the men he commands are going to try again—"

"To capture Groudon?" Jasmine interrupted hastily.

"No," Flannery said gravely. "They have their sights now set on Kyogre."

"Ky…Kyogre?"

"Yes. We have it on good authority that tomorrow is the day that Sienna's father, and the many powerful trainers that work under him, will attempt to capture the Legendary Pokemon."

"TOMORROW?" Jasmine bellowed in shock and Nikki let out a little squeak. "And you didn't think to tell us this _before _now?"

"We've… we've been busy!" Flannery said hotly. "And I'm almost certain Sienna doesn't want you two getting mixed up in this. She wants you two to say safe! There's a bunch of people here all completely ready to stop this thing from happening. Gym Leaders, elite trainers, everything. We have more than enough people to stop this. You don't need to be here."

"The hell with that!" Jasmine cried. "We're coming down there!"

"And tell me how the hell do you expect to get from… wherever it is you are… to Sootopolis before tomorrow? I can't come and get you! I'm almost in Sootopolis myself!"

"We're in… Littleroot Town…" Jasmine said, cringing as she realized just how far away they were. "But we're going to get there!"

"Jasmine, it'll take you days to get here!" Flannery said exasperated. "And besides, you guys need to stay out of this! This is going to be a dangerous operation! We're talking about someone trying to raise a legendary Pokemon! And those men that Sienna's father order around… they're not to be messed with! You guys _can't _get involved!"

"Watch us!" Jasmine snarled into the phone. "You tell Sienna when you see her that Jasmine and Nikki are coming to help her!"

"It won't happen."

"It will!"

"It won't."

"It will!"

"It really won't."

"IT WILL! WE'RE GOING TO BE THERE AND THAT'S FINAL!"

And with that, Jasmine slammed the phone shut, cutting off the call. Still breathing heavily and a look of thunder upon her face, she darted around to look at Nikki. "Sienna's in Sootopolis." She said needlessly.

"I kind of got that…" Nikki said slowly, her mouth gaping open in awe. "I can't believe she's okay…"

"What has the stupid girl got herself involved in now?" Jasmine snapped. "Her father is going after _Kyogre _now? What the _hell _is happening?"

"So what are we going to do?" Nikki asked, sounding panicked.

"It's simple." Jasmine said with a defiant nod of her head. "We need to go to Sootopolis. I don't care what Flannery says or Sienna says or what _anyone _says. If those bunch of idiot men are going after Kyogre, they're going to need all the help they can get! We're going down there, Nikki!"

"Yeah, I know! I want to go! It's just…"

"It's just _what_?"

"How are we meant to get there?"

"I…!" Jasmine suddenly stopped as she realised just how long it would take to cross practically one end of the region to another. "I don't know…"

"We can't do it…" Nikki whispered in horror.

"We _have _to do it!" Jasmine was uncharacteristically close to tears. "We've been stupid enough to go waltzing off in the _complete _wrong direction looking for Sienna! All this time we've been looking in the wrong places! After we've been so stupid… I can't let Sienna just go walking right into danger! We can't just leave her like this… they're going after Kyogre for Arecus's sake! Sienna could be hurt!"

"Then how…?"

Jasmine wracked her brains. "I… I don't know… Flannery said she couldn't come and get us… and we're days, almost a week away on foot."

"We'd need some kind of Flying Pokemon…" Nikki murmured. "Only something really really fast could get us there…"

Jasmine sighed. "But who—"

All of a sudden, Nikki's phone started to ring again. As Jasmine whipped her head around to see who was calling her friend, a stroke of inspiration and genius bubbled up in her as she saw the caller ID. Before Nikki could take her phone, Jasmine grabbed it instead and answered it herself.

"Christian!" she practically bellowed down the phone.

"Uh…hello? Who is this?" Christian's voice sounded nervous as Jasmine's loud voice rang in his ears.

"It's Jasmine! Nikki's friend!" she added hastily. "Listen, we're in a bit of a bind here! Do you have any Flying Pokemon?"

"Flying Pokemon?" He repeated slowly.

"Yes!" Jasmine shouted eagerly. "Something big and fast!"

"Well, yeah… I've got a Staraptor."

Jasmine wasn't altogether sure what a Staraptor looked like, but at that moment she didn't care. "Is that big enough to carry two people _and _a rider?"

"If the two people you're talking about are yourself and Nikki, then yes."

"Oh! Oh, great!" Jasmine was practically babbling and jumping up and down in her excitement. "How… how far away from Littleroot Town are you?"

Christian stuttered a little, probably confused about the manner of questioning, but Jasmine wasn't exactly sympathetic and eagerly pressed him for answers. "Not very far, actually, why?" he managed to say.

"_Yes!_" Jasmine mentally fist pumped. "Cos Nikki and I need a lift."

"O…okay…" Christian sounded uncertain. "Where to, and when?"

"To Sootopolis and right now!"

"I… I don't know, Jasmine…" Christian said evasively "I mean, I'd love to but…"

Jasmine's mouth fell as Christian started making excuses. A tiny flash of determination appeared in Nikki's eyes and she decided to step in.

"Give me the phone, give me the phone!" Nikki hissed, before snatching her phone back. Jasmine was too shocked to even complain. "Christian?" Nikki ventured. As soon as Nikki spoke, Christian's protesting voice halted immediately. "It's Nikki."

"Nikki?" Christian sounded surprised to be speaking to her again. "Hey… what's up? Why did you hang up on me earlier?"

"Christian, we've found Sienna!"

"You have?"

"Yes, but it's an emergency! She's in Sootopolis and we _need _to get there before tomorrow!"

"Before… tomorrow…?" Christian repeated slowly. "Nikki… even with as fast as my Staraptor is, I can tell you right now that's not going to happen! It's already evening now… you'll never make it."

"Please, Christian!" Nikki begged. "Please! Can't you at least try? Do it for me?"

Christian sighed at the other end of the phone, but it was clear he had already given in. "All right. All right. I'll do what I can."

"Oh, thank you Christian! Thank you!"

"I'll meet you outside Littleroot Town in an hour."

"We'll be there." Nikki replied firmly.

"All right, see you there."

"See you."

And with a click, the phone call was ended. Nikki turned a triumphant face towards Jasmine, who just shook her head and grinned. ""Do it for me"? Miss Harper… that is a dirty trick."

Nikki blushed. "Well no… it's actually a dirty trick that _works._"

Jasmine sat there a full five seconds before bursting into peals of laughter at the uncharacteristic joke from Nikki.

"Come on, stop laughing!" Nikki threw Jasmine's bag at her. "Christian's gonna be here in an hour. Let's go!"

"Right!"

* * *

><p>Just over an hour later, Nikki and Jasmine were soaring high in the air on Christian's Staraptor. The giant Pokemon was more than capable of supporting their combined weights and flew remarkably fast. But there was a lot of ground to cover, and they had to fly straight through the night if they wanted to even have a <em>chance <em>of getting there in time.

They flew for a good five hours, covering plenty of distance, but by the time it came to two o'clock in the morning Staraptor was exhausted and they had to rest. Nikki and Jasmine were obviously less than happy with this, knowing they were wasting valuable time, but they had no choice but to deal with it. They slept for a few hours, and then by seven o'clock they were ready to move again.

They travelled for a further few hours, totally unaware of the carnage that had undergone in the Cave of Origins. Blissfully unaware now that Sienna's father and the men he was working with had moved on to Lavaridge, had smashed up the town, forcibly blasted their way straight into Mt Chimney and were just beginning the process of summoning Kyogre, the girls and Christian were still sailing on towards Sootopolis. Also unbeknownst to them, Sienna and Elliot were battling their way through Mt Chimney, desperate to find Cal and the men before it was too late.

Nikki and Jasmine both suddenly felt inexplicable shudders go through their bodies. Neither of them could figure out why they were feeling so strange, but they both knew it couldn't be good… Jasmine cast a worried glance into the distance, suddenly feeling an influx of nerves. This was a bad omen, she thought privately to herself…

"_We're so close to finding her now…_" she prayed. "_I just hope that whatever that's happening to her right now that she stays safe at _least _until we get there. Hold on, Sienna. We'll be there soon._"

By the time it came close to mid-morning, the two girls could see Mt Chimney looming in the distance. But something was wrong… Huge holes had been blasted in the main body of the volcano, steam was pumping from the mouth and tiny dots were moving across the devastated jagged path. A vicious sense of déjà vu jolted through both girls as they laid eyes upon the volcano.

"Oh no…" Jasmine whispered, a sense of ominous finality filling her, threatening to overwhelm her. "You don't think… that's them, do you?"

"But I thought they were in Sootopolis…?" Nikki said hoarsely.

"Unless we're too late… and they've already done what they need to in Sootopolis…" a horrible thought filled Jasmine. "And they've moved back to Groudon…"

Both girls looked at each other, long and hard, before glancing back towards Mt Chimney that was now belching out steam and smoke, an ominous rumbling now shaking it. As Christian's Staraptor soared, in a danger of passing completely by, Nikki took an executive decision. Somehow she just knew she had to go down there!

"Christian, take us down, now!" Nikki cried.

"Got it!"

With a well timed dive, the massive bird Pokemon was sweeping towards the base of Mt Chimney. As they got closer, massive explosions suddenly began to rip through the entire of the volcano, giant cracks appearing in the body of it, even reaching as far as the deserted town sitting at its base.

"Quickly, Christian!" Nikki screamed.

"Hurry!" Christian urged his Pokemon.

The Pokemon seemed to pick up speed until everything around them just became a blur of colour. The wind whipped at their hair, stinging their eyes and nipping at their exposed skin. After only a few seconds, they were within reaching distance of Mt Chimney. With a juddering stop, Staraptor hit the ground, almost sending both girls flying. However, as soon as they had dismounted and had the opening of Mt Chimney in their sights, a flock of black uniformed men had surrounded them. They approached this new threat, their hands immediately poised at the Pokeballs at their waists.

Instantly, as they realised they had been spotted, Nikki and Jasmine's hands flew to their belts for their Pokeballs, but Christian quickly stepped in. He stood right in front of the girls, his Staraptor returning to his side. "Go. I can handle this."

"What? No!" Nikki cried in shock. "These guys are tough! You can't handle them all by yourself!"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about me," Christian said with a grin. "They didn't make me a champion for nothing. You guys go. Find your friend, okay?"

Nikki could only squeak in reply, which Christian took to be an affirmative.

"Let me clear these guys out of your way first though," he said with a gentlemanly air, indicating the trainers slowly surrounding them. "Staraptor, use Whirlwind!"

The sheer power behind the winds that Christian's Staraptor whipped up was unlike anything Nikki and Jasmine had ever seen before. The torrent of winds picked up every trainer in its path, effortlessly tossing them to the side like they were nothing. Immediately Christian's hand flew to his belt and he produced three other Pokeballs, loosing them all at once. "Take them down!" he cried, as his Pokemon burst out of their balls all around him.

Even with all his Pokemon around him, Nikki still felt a shudder of fear go through her body at the thought of leaving him behind. She darted across to Christian, despite Jasmine's angered shouting.

"Christian!"

"Nikki, go!" Christian cried as soon as Nikki came close. His hands closed around her arms and he held her firmly. She looked on the verge of tears. "I'll be fine, just go!"

"But—!" Nikki inexplicably felt panic for her friend, suddenly terrified he would be hurt or even _worse _if he was left by himself.

All of a sudden, Christian leaned across and planted a soft, sweet but fleeting kiss on Nikki's lips. He broke away from her so soon that she wasn't even sure it had actually happened. She stood, rooted to the spot, her mind whirring, and her lips echoing with the ghost of his touch. Had he really just…?

Christian gasped as the black uniform trainers started to get to their feet again, heading back towards them. He grabbed Nikki again and looked her intently in the eye. "Go. Please! I promise I'll be fine!"

Before Nikki could say anything else or even protest any further, Jasmine suddenly appeared from nowhere. "Nikki, come on!" she urged desperately.

Nikki was still reeling from what Christian had just done, but she had no time to think on it. Immediately Jasmine seized Nikki by the hand and before she knew it, they were running straight towards Mt Chimney. Nikki didn't dare to look back as they barged straight through the entrance. Immediately they were greeted by a wave of heat and a strange, metallic, smoky smell invaded their nostrils. The smoke billowed through the corridors relentlessly, making both girls catch their breath as they inhaled. It stung at their eyes, invading their vision, but they had to push on. Gripping each other's hands to stay together, they darted through corridor after corridor. However, it wasn't just the smoke that made running extremely difficult. The corridors were cracked; some of the dark dank ground had split and caused huge gaps the two had to leap across. Giant explosions blasted through the caves, sending debris and rocks everywhere.

"Come on! Keep going!" Jasmine coughed, feeling her lungs constrict as the hot smoke clawed its way down her throat.

They emerged, moments later in a giant open cavern. The place was intolerably hot and humid; the frantic and pained cries of Pokemon rang in their ears and the sight of hundreds of the warring creatures met their eyes. They both stopped in astonishment, scanning what lay before them in disbelief. All around them, black uniformed trainers were ordering scrapping Pokemon to attack and they were all colliding in one giant scrum, screeching and firing wicked attacks in every direction.

Forcing their eye to gaze beyond the Pokemon, they caught sight of a red-headed man leaning down to a pool of ferociously bubbling lava. And almost directly below him was someone very familiar, on her knees, being slowly surrounded by a gathering of snarling Pokemon, all looking like they were intent on her blood!

"Sienna!" Both girls screamed at once.

However, the girl didn't hear them. And the Pokemon that were surrounding her looked ready to jump her!

"We have to help her!" Nikki panicked; suddenly terrified the Pokemon would attack her. A close range attack like that would have been fatal to her!

"Right!" Jasmine cried, her hand flying to her belt. "Double Tag Team strategy, right?"

"Yes!"

Both girls hurled their Pokeballs as far as they could. They erupted in brilliant flashes of light, revealing a Quilava and a Ninetails. Nikki and Jasmine pointed straight in Sienna's direction, totally unaware that a peculiar silence had fallen across the cave at their arrival.

"Use Double Flamethrower!"

With that instruction, Sulphur and Dixie leapt across the cave, sending wicked fire attacks everywhere they went. The spiralling flames from Dixie had an incredible range and hit many enemy Pokemon at once, and the sheer power behind Sulphur's fire attacks easily sent the few Pokemon it hit blasting away into the distance. They were a perfect tag team, ideal for taking on a situation such as this. Their hearts thudding in their chests, the girls could see from where they were standing their Pokemon easily clear away the Pokemon surrounding Sienna.

Sienna stood up, looking completely shocked, scanning the area around the cave looking for the sources of the voices and the Pokemon she had just seen.

"Quickly, Nikki!" Jasmine shouted, breaking into a run. "Sulphur—!"

"Dixie, you too!"

"Protect Sienna!" the two girls shouted as they sped down into the cave, their eyes set firmly on their friend.

They homed in on Sienna immediately, whose face was a picture of emotion at the unexpected sight of her friends. Her eyes welled with tears and her voice cracked ominously as she watched them get closer and closer. Peculiar emotions also invaded both Nikki and Jasmine's heads too as they neared their friend.

Sienna could only say one thing in the face of her friends. She whispered their names in total disbelief. "J…Jasmine…? And… and Nikki?"

And with that, the girls collided with their friend, reunited at last.

However, what Nikki and Jasmine didn't know was that they were about to finally understand the gravity of the situation their friend had been inadvertently caught up in. What they bore witness to that day would never leave their memories. The sights of Legendary Pokemon… the subtle ins and outs of the criminal organization that had plagued them… the image of their friend lying close to death after a vicious attack… they were memories that when they looked back on them made them shudder with terror each and every time.

But with every memory came a reminder. They had done it all for Sienna, all for friendship. And while there had been tough times, infuriating times, terrifying times and completely unbelievable times, it was all worth it in the end when the three were successfully and safely reunited. The friendship was as strong, if not even stronger, by the end of it. They knew then, that if their friendship could survive what had happened to them so far, that they could come out of anything easily.

Because friendship, whether with humans or Pokemon, was something _no-one_ ever wanted to lose.

Left Behind

Fin

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, I'm baaack! :)**

**I hope you enjoyed the first story of my extension! I know its a bit long, I should probably split it in two chapters... but I can't find a good place to seperate it...**

**I decided to focus on the more important parts of Nikki and Jasmine's journey, kind of condensing it down instead of writing about every little thing they did. Because a lot of what they did was just training and a lot of fruitless travelling.**

**I introduced Christian as a romantic interest for Nikki (obviously) and he should have some manner of a part to play in the sequel. **

**Now, I don't know which of the stories to write next. What would you readers like to see? A greenhornshippy (ElliotXSienna) piece, something about Lance and Elliot, a oneshot about Meloi, or Nathan's past? **

**There's also a poll I'd like anyone reading this to vote for, thank you! :)**

**Please read and review!**


	3. The Proof is in the Poffin

The Proof is in the Poffin

**_Hey everyone! Well this is the greenhornshipping, humour, fluffy, romantic oneshot that I promised! I dedicate this one to all the lovers of ElliotxSienna, especially Sniper Mudkip for his love of romance, eeveelutionluvr and May and Dawn are the best for their request of a greenhornshipping oneshot and splashstorm for the idea of the baking story. I hope this satisfies you all! In this story, Elliot seeing how bogged down Sienna is with work making Poffins to sell and attempts to make his own to help her… with disastrous consequences… This story takes place four months after the conclusion of Spirited and a few days after the upcoming fic "Brothers in Arms"._**

**_Now, onto the story! :)_**

* * *

><p>The Volbeda's kitchen was thick with the delicious aromas of fruits and berries and was pleasantly warm to Elliot's cold skin as he slipped inside. His thick brown hair was dotted with pearly white snowflakes in the remnants of the January snowfalls. His glasses steamed up in the pleasing heat of the kitchen. Delicious smells tickled his nostrils as he came in and shrugged off his heavy winter coat. He could see the figure of his girlfriend Sienna standing patiently at the cooker, stirring something in a big pot. Whatever smelled so delicious was coming from that. Elliot grinned happily. She was cooking again! He loved his girlfriend's cooking, especially on a cold winter's day like this when he had been away for a while.<p>

He quickly tiptoed across the kitchen floor and slipped his arm around his girlfriend's waist, murmuring a hello in her ear. He expected, having not seen her in almost a week, to be given the royal treatment, smothered in excited hugs and kisses. However, instead of all that, what he actually received was a hysterical shriek and a frying pan coming into sharp contact with his cheekbone.

"OWWW!" Elliot shrieked, clutching at the painful and rapidly spreading red mark on his face. "What the…? Why did you…? What the…? Owww!"

"I am so sor—!" Sienna said in horror, before coming to her senses and correcting herself. "Actually, no! I'm not sorry! That's what you get when you sneak up on someone like that!"

"That was still no excuse for hitting me with that frying pan… What are we, an old married couple…?" Elliot asked, wounded, still rubbing his face.

"Not yet," Sienna said with a grin, replacing her frying pain on the cooker and turning back to her pot. Upon closer investigation, Elliot discovered that inside the pot was a collection of whole pink berries in some kind of thick pink syrupy sauce, bubbling away merrily. Elliot looked upon it puzzlingly, but Sienna shooed him away.

"What are you making?" he asked, teasingly.

"The filling for a Pecha Pie," she said quickly, tapping her spoon at the edge of the pot to shake off the syrup coating it. "So, how was your trip to see Lance?"

Elliot looked at her and grimaced. "It was… interesting…"

Sienna sighed. That could mean anything when it came to Elliot and his enigma of a half brother. "Do I want to know?"

"No… not really." He grinned, shrugging.

Sienna flashed him a smile and Elliot immediately weakened. Even now, after four whole months of being together he still felt weak and helpless seeing her smile. It seemed every time she smiled he fell more and more in love with her. To communicate this he edged closer to her and slipped his arms around her waist, planting a soft kiss on her neck. "I love you, you know…?"

"I love you too, Elliot." She grinned, but then playfully began batting him away with the wooden spoon she was using. "But what I'd really love to do would be to get this Pecha Pie done too. As soon as I finish that I've gotta start making the Poffins."

"Oh yeah, the Poffins…" Elliot mused, taking a seat at the kitchen table and tracing the red and white check patterned tablecloth. "How many do you have to do?"

"Too many," came Sienna's reply. "It seems like I'm the only one within a good thirty miles that sells these things… I'm just inundated with orders now… Guess I can't really complain though… it's good money."

Elliot grinned. Sienna really had been doing well for herself lately. Even though her Pokemon training had recently taken a back seat, she kept herself busy by travelling up to Viridian City for a few days each week to attend pastry school, and by running a side business making and selling Poffins that were able to permanently raise the stats of the Pokemon that ate them. Apparently, Sienna had gotten the idea from the Poffin making competition she had entered and come second in back in Sootopolis. It was a clever idea to combine the vitamin supplements in the Poffins as it was well known that a lot of Pokemon disliked the taste of the vitamins and were reluctant to take them, even despite their desperate trainer's best efforts. Incorporating them in Poffins to mask the taste was sheer brilliance! However, as amazing as the idea was, it was a difficult, arduous and expensive process and Sienna had initially only been able to sell to wealthy trainers. But as it turned out there was a market for such things and the word had quickly spread, especially with proven amazing results. As a result, Sienna was often being rushed off her feet these days.

Elliot hated seeing his girlfriend up to her eyeballs in so much work, especially when he really wanted to spend time with her after being away for so long. As Sienna swiftly removed the pan of Pecha Pie filling from the stove and quickly deposited it in the empty pie shell, Elliot admired her skill and ease with what she was doing. Taking great care, Sienna quickly rolled up the sheet of pastry sitting on the floured kitchen countertop onto the rolling pin and spread it across the pie. She quickly fitted the top pastry around the filling and then stuck the pie in the oven. She then let out an exasperated sigh and began pulling Poffin ingredients towards her, starting to make the dry mix.

"Do you want a hand?" Elliot asked her, coming to her side, as she began sifting sugars and adding butter.

"No," Sienna said impatiently, grabbing some berries sitting idly in a basket. "No offence Elliot… but you don't know the slightest thing about baking… and these Poffins are so hard to get right. You'll probably just get in my way…"

Elliot deflated.

"Besides…" Sienna said, eyeing Elliot suspiciously. "I've heard from your mother _just _how bad of a cook you are…"

Elliot laughed sheepishly. "Come on… I'm not that bad…"

"Pickles in lasagne?"

"Oh, come on! That was one time!"

"_How _you survived six years living on your own I have no idea…" Sienna sighed, mixing batter for all she was worth.

"Care packages." Elliot stated simply. "And canned food. Saved my life." He said with all seriousness.

"You're weird." Sienna deadpanned, cracking eggs.

"So are you," Elliot tapped her playfully on the nose. "Now come on, let me heeeeelp!"

"No!" Sienna laughed, batting him away again. "We can hang out _after _I finish all this work, okay?"

"Aww…" Elliot whined.

"I'll give you a call later, okay? I won't be long, I promise. A couple of hours maybe."

"A couple of _hours_?" Elliot repeated shrilly.

"You know, you're just prolonging this by the longer you stand here distracting me," she pointed out.

"I still say you'd be done a lot faster if you'd let me help," Elliot said traitorously.

"Elliot, I would rather die than let you near these Poffins," Sienna said seriously. "Do you know how many expensive ingredients are in there? Iron, Zinc, Calcium… not to mention all the berries and the other ingredients. You have to add the ingredients in the right order, the measurements have to be _exact, _you need to mix them a certain way and cook them exactly right. It's quite a task. _And _it's almost impossible to remember the exact way to do it, especially with all the different Poffins I get asked to make. That's why I write them all down in this book." She picked up a nearby recipe book that seemed to consist of hastily scribbled pieces of paper, all detailing various Poffin recipes.

"I… I see…" Elliot said, staring intently at the recipe sheets, the first brilliant seeds of a plan beginning to germinate in his mind.

"So, I'd never trust you with them." Sienna concluded firmly. "Every mistake has to come out of _my _pocket. Okay? We clear on that?"

"Transparently…" Elliot managed a nervous smile. "Ma…maybe you're right. I'll just… um… I'll just leave you to it."

"Good. I'll call you later."

"See you soon."

Sienna turned her back to Elliot, letting him see himself out. She began blending the various berries together, humming a little tune as she did so. She was so caught up in her work she didn't notice Elliot sneak up behind her, rip a page from her recipe folder and run out the door like nothing had happened.

* * *

><p>Finally safe in his own house, Elliot sat down in his kitchen to study his stolen goods.<p>

""Sienna's Kelpsy Poffins infused with Iron. This Poffin raises the happiness of the Pokemon that consumes it and also raises defence stat. Ideal for Pokemon who prefer slightly sour foods." Hmm… that sounds pretty decent actually…" Elliot mused to himself as he read the recipe sheet. He had come up with the brilliant idea that he would make some Poffins for Sienna, out of his own ingredients to take some of the strain off her. In his mind, this was a failsafe solution.

Unfortunately, Elliot was a terrible cook and held neither the necessary skills, knowledge, utensils nor ingredients to pull off Sienna's luxury Poffins to her standards. However, when anyone else wouldn't even have _attempted_ this, his lack of skills didn't bother Elliot in the slightest, and he studied the recipe sheet enthusiastically like a little boy, eager to get started.

"Okay, let's see what we've got here…" Elliot clattered noisily around the kitchen, his nose practically embedded in the piece of paper he was so ardently studying. "Says here I need one hundred and fifty grams of butter… Butter… that's easy enough. Now let's see, butter… butter… butter…" Elliot opened the fridge and searched through it like a scavenging Zigzagoon. He found a tub of butter right at the back of the fridge and happily tossed it to the countertop. "What else…? Hmm… caster sugar? What the hell is that? Is that different from regular sugar?"

Elliot searched the cupboards but found only regular sugar sitting idly next to his mother's teabags. Figuring it wasn't going to do any harm he plopped it on the counter next to the butter. The next item on the list was eggs, which he found a pack of sitting in another cupboard. "Three of those, huh?" he murmured.

The next thing he needed was self raising flour, which he found none of. He did however find a substitution in plain flour. He added a liberal pinch of salt to the mound of flour he poured out. Now all he needed were the more specialized ingredients. Some strange spices he had never heard of, so he left them out, five Kelpsy berries and a bottle of Iron. Miraculously, his Berry supply was more or less full and he was able to produce the Kelpsy berries with no difficulty. He found a bottle of long forgotten Iron too, which he added to the group of ingredients. Now all he needed were the utensils. He found a large bowl no problem, but he had difficulty when it came to a griddle pan to cook the Poffins on and a set of scales. Deciding that a large saucepan would do and that he could just guess the measurements, Elliot got ready to begin.

Elliot was decent enough at maths to make a rough calculation about how much you would have to take out a five hundred gram tub of butter to get one hundred and fifty grams. It was simple enough to half the tub to get two hundred and fifty and then he roughly guessed to take away another hundred grams. He plopped the butter in the bowl and moved on to the sugar. This was considerably more difficult. Eventually he gave up attempting to guess a measurement and just poured whatever he deemed suitable into the bowl, figuring the extra sweetness could only be a good thing.

The recipe called for the butter and sugar to be "whisked" together until "light and fluffy" but Elliot wasn't altogether sure how to do that. The only times he had ever seen cakes being made was when he was a boy watching his grandmother, and that was a long time ago. Deciding to improvise, Elliot grabbed a wooden spoon from the drawer and began to furiously beat the mix.

It took him a long time to get the hard butter to soften enough to combine with the sugar and by the time he had made any tangible progress, his arm ached. He looked at the somewhat lumpy yellow concoction he had in front of him and tentatively dipped a finger in it. Upon tasting, he grimaced. It just tasted like sugary, gritty butter. Deciding that it probably would taste better once everything else was added, he moved on.

Cracking three eggs (and a fair bit of eggshell) into a cup and beating it together to a gloopy yellow liquid proved at least vaguely interesting, especially as some of it dripped all over the countertop and eggshells crunched underneath his feet. Deciding he would clean up afterwards, Elliot ignored this and moved on.

While the recipe stated to add the eggs a little at a time, Elliot, ignoring the recipe's advice _and _Sienna's previous insistence that everything had to be done exactly right, tipped the whole lot in and began beating furiously. Bits of eggy buttery mix flew out all over the kitchen, some of it even spattering him in the face, but he ignored it and carried on. Upon seeing that the mixture was very runny, Elliot decided to improvise by adding more plain flour than was required to the mix. By the time Elliot had added the thick white powder and beaten it together, the mix was so thick it coated the spoon refusing to budge. In despair, consulting the recipe, Elliot found that adding milk or water would thin the batter so he compensated by adding about a mug full of whole milk. That thinned the batter, all right…

Satisfied, and pointedly ignoring the mess all over the kitchen, Elliot pureed down the Kelpsy berries and spooned the thick gloopy Iron into the mix. He beat the whole thing together and sniffed the blue mixture cautiously. It didn't smell nice at all, and when it tasted it, he realised it tasted disgusting.

Shrugging it off, he decided it would probably taste better when it was cooked as through his limited cooking experience, he knew things generally tasted horrible when raw. Compromising, he shoved the saucepan on the stove, snapped on the heat and began to warm up the pan. It wasn't until the slight scent of smoke tickled his nostrils that he realised he hadn't even put oil in the pan yet to stop the Poffins from sticking. Panicking he shook some oil into the pan that, as soon as it hit the red hot element, hissed and sparked ominously. In his fright from a hot splash hitting his arm, Elliot's hand shook and the majority of the contents of the bottle of oil splashed into the pan. He then had to grab the saucepan, but found the handle of it red hot as well! Shrieking, he slammed it down on the first thing he saw, which proved to be the countertop. Nursing his burned hand for a few moments, he realised too late that the hot pan had left a burned, black ring on the white countertop. Letting out a sigh, Elliot quickly shifted the pan back to the cooker, privately thinking his mother was going to kill him when she saw that.

He studied the hissing, sparking puddle of oil in the pan before concluding that it probably wouldn't make a difference, in fact it would probably guarantee the Poffins wouldn't stick. Now it was time to start cooking them!

Excited, Elliot attempted to spoon the mix into the pan but it was so thin it simply wouldn't stay on the spoon. Grumbling to himself, he resorted to simply pouring the mix in. However, as soon as the mix hit the pan it spread so thin it was almost like a crepe and by the time Elliot set the bowl down, the thinly spread mix was already burning.

Elliot cursed to himself as he scraped off the burnt batter and got rid of the majority of the oil. Realizing the batter really was too thin to cook with; he dumped another pile of flour in and whisked it round. The batter grew even lumpier and looked even less appetising, but Elliot figured since it was around the right consistency it would be fine. Besides, it wasn't how it looked it was how it tasted, he figured.

Miraculously, and without burning the house down, Elliot managed to cook the Poffins. Well, the term "cook" should be used quite loosely here. The first ones failed miserably, but by the time he had made four of five, he was starting to feel more confident. They didn't rise very well, but they didn't stick to the bottom of the pan and Elliot was at least able to flip them around to cook them kind of evenly. Gleefully he made piece after piece and stacked the completed Poffins on a plate until he had no more batter left. They were flat, misshapen, a strange sickly blue in colour and weren't properly cooked through, but Elliot nonetheless was still quite proud of himself!

"Well! I think this is a success!" Elliot grinned looking at his work for the day.

"Success" may not have been what Elliot's mother would have called it. Her kitchen was in an uproar. Dirty dishes with burnt batter crusted on them were pilled in the sink, gloopy blue mixture had been splattered on every surface in the kitchen, including Elliot _and _on the ceiling, there was a foul burnt odour hanging thick in the air from the burned countertop, Elliot's mother's Mewoth had already fled the kitchen in terror and Elliot stood proudly in the middle of it all, beaming childishly, pleased with his achievements.

"Suppose I should test them out, huh…?" he mused, picking up a still hot Poffin by its corner and sniffing it gingerly. He took a tiny bite from the corner, bit down and chewed tentatively. As soon as he bit down a strong blast of something incredibly sour coated his tongue, causing his cheeks to inadvertently suck in. It was disgusting! The taste was so unbearably sour and the cake was horribly moist and stodgy and stuck to the roof of his mouth. He had no choice but to spit it out. The taste still echoed even after he had swilled his mouth with water.

"Okay, okay, maybe I'm not the best critic…" he reasoned. "It _is _Pokemon food… Maybe I should get one to try it."

Elliot swiftly realised that his mother's Meowth was not the best one to ask as all he received for his troubles was a vicious swipe across the face. Elliot sloped back to the kitchen, dignity well and truly wounded. He had to try a different tactic.

"Come out, Jet."

As soon as the Pokemon appeared in the destroyed kitchen he let out a squeak of terror. "Bree?" he said, his eyes darting around the mess Elliot had made. "Bree! Bree! Breeon!" he said, pointing a tiny paw in Elliot's direction in the best imitation of Elliot's mother's scolding as he could.

"Settle down, Jet, I know it's a mess, I'm just trying to help Sienna here!" Elliot appealed. "She's so bogged down with making Poffins I wanted to help her make some. Look!"

He grabbed the plate of Poffins and shoved it under Jet's nose. In the face of the unsightly Poffins Jet squeaked and backtracked a few paces, whimpering.

"Oh, don't be such a baby!" Elliot chided. "I know you like sour foods, and these are meant to raise your defence and make you friendlier! Come on!"

Jet turned his nose up even still.

"What! Jet! Come on, not _everything _I make is inedible! This _isn't _like the pickle lasagne incident, I _swear_." Jet shuddered at the memory. "Now com on, man up and taste it."

Jet whimpered and reluctantly took the Poffin in his mouth. It took him a long time to bite down, but as soon as he did he retched and promptly spat out the half chewed Poffin on the ground.

"Jet!" Elliot cried, falling onto his backside on the floor looking at his Pokemon in despair. "Okay, maybe just because _one _Pokemon doesn't like it doesn't mean they _all _will." He grabbed another Pokeball from his belt. "Okay, come out Mightyena!"

Mightyena, or as Elliot liked to call him "the dustbin" due to the fact he would eat almost _anything,_ barked happily as soon as he was released. Before Elliot could even ask his Pokemon what he wanted, the Pokemon had already caught sight of the Poffins in Elliot's hands. Without thinking, Mightyena lunged for the proffered treats and snapped up two or three at once. But no sooner had the Pokemon crunched through them then a horrified look spread across the Pokemon's face and he then proceeded to vomit all over the kitchen floor.

"Oh my God!" Elliot screeched in disgust, hastily getting to his feet. Even the Pokemon that ate _everything _hated these Poffins! "What the hell—?"

It was then Elliot, in horror and crushing disappointment, realised how much of a disaster this had been. The kitchen was in ruins, his Poffins were horrible, his Pokemon had, quite literally, revolted at the taste and sight of them and he was no closer to helping out his girlfriend. He let out a tortured sigh and sunk his head in his hands.

"_It can't get any worse, can it?_"

And it was that exact moment that Elliot's mother decided to walk through the kitchen door shouting cheerily. Now Elliot wasn't scared of a lot of things. He had faced and tamed Pokemon meaner and tougher than most people hadn't even dreamed of, he had seen Legendary Pokemon fall to a criminal organization, he had even watched as the girl he loved was attacked and nearly killed, and had still somehow managed to keep it together. However, the sight of his mother's face dropping and then contorting in rage as she saw the state her recently fitted kitchen was in, was enough to send paralysing fear through him…

"Uh… hi mum?" he offered sheepishly.

"Elliot Alexander Wood… what the _hell _have you done?"

Two hours of cleaning later, Elliot was exhausted. His hands had been rubbed raw and were stinging from the scrubbing and his arms ached from straining to reach the places the batter had been sprayed onto. As well as a hefty withdrawal from his bank account to pay for replacing the burned countertop, he had also received a serious dent in his pride from the angered tongue-lashing his mother had given him. _S_he yelled at him continuously for ten minutes, saying that even despite his age, his family and his Pokemon trainer status, he had no chance of looking after himself when he eventually did leave home and that he should be ashamed of himself. So Elliot Wood, the seventeen year old brother of Lance, and a Pokemon trainer who had almost beaten the Elite Four, was very quickly reduced to something like a little boy hanging his head in shame and taking a telling off from his mother. "_I'm so glad Sienna can't see this…_"

Not even telling his mother the _reason _why the kitchen was in such a mess would pacify her rage. Her answer was simply "Leave the Poffin making to someone who _doesn't _put pickles in lasagne!"

Elliot then childishly retorted with "I like pickles!" which definitely didn't help the situation.

So, after giving the whole kitchen a thorough cleaning, and after an ego-destroying, grovelling apology to both his mother _and _his mother's Meowth, Elliot was finally able to sit down for a rest. He pulled the plate of offending Poffins to his lap (Elliot's mother refused to have them in the kitchen unless they spontaneously combusted or something ridiculous) and studied them with disdain. Flat, lumpy and an off blue colour, he could see why all the Pokemon hated them. In a fit of anger, he got ready to throw the disgusting things in the open fire roaring next to him, but he was cut off by a doorbell ringing and a cheery, familiar "Hello!" ringing through the house. This was then followed by "I'm through with work for the day!"

Elliot gasped as Sienna came in through the front door. In his panic, he stood up, hastily threw the plate of Poffins on the seat and spread a grin across his face, before Sienna had entered the living room. "Si…Sienna! Hi! How are you?"

"Tired," she said, collapsing down on one of the chairs and patting the Meowth sitting next to her. While she was busy making a fuss over Elliot's mother's Meowth, Elliot quickly readjusted himself to completely hide the Poffins sitting behind him.

All of a sudden Sienna wrinkled her nose. "Elliot…? What's that smell? It smells like…" she sniffed again, trying to place it. "Burning…" she finished.

"Oh! Oh yeah… that…" he laughed nervously. "Mum… Mum burnt something earlier…"

Sienna looked at him. "_Your _mum burned something? No way. Your mum's a brilliant cook! And hey…" her eyes touched on something blue behind Elliot's back. "What is that behind you?"

"_Shoot_." Elliot cursed inwardly.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" he said hastily.

"Come on, that's something!" she said, getting up and attempting to dodge around Elliot to see. But Elliot, being a good deal taller than his tiny girlfriend, was able to grab her by her wrists and stop her. He held her up playfully, which infuriated her. "Elliot!" She protested, trying to wriggle free. "What are you doing? What are you trying to hide from me?"

"Nothing!" Elliot said frantically.

"It certainly doesn't look like that!" she struggled. "Let me see!"

In danger of Sienna breaking free from his grasp, Elliot did the only other thing he could think of doing to distract her. He leaned forward and began to kiss his girlfriend. This was a success, as Sienna immediately seemed to forget about what she was doing and kissed him back. They entwined in each other's arms, kissing smoothly and sweetly for a few minutes, before Sienna suddenly and without warning pulled away.

"What was all that for?"

"Huh?" Elliot blinked in surprise. "You're my girlfriend… boyfriends kiss their girlfriends… isn't that the way it normally goes?"

"I know _that_, Elliot…" Sienna said in exasperation. "But you don't normally—" and with her boyfriend suitably distracted by what she was saying, she pushed herself past him, almost tipping him into the fire in the process and eventually caught sight of what he had been hiding from her. Elliot cursed, this time out loud and repeatedly.

Sienna picked up the plate in disgust. "Elliot… what are these…?"

Elliot scratched the back of his head nervously. "P…Poffins…" he murmured quietly.

"Pardon?"

"Poffins…" he said, this time louder, even the word making him cringe.

"Poffins…?" Sienna repeated sceptically, investigating the _things _that were on the plate with disdainful scrutiny. "Elliot… these are _not _Poffins, they're… I don't know what they are but they're definitely not of this Earth…" she took a hesitant bite and immediately her face twisted in disgust. "Oh God, they're terrible!"

Elliot deflated. "I know…"

Sienna stared at him. "Did you… did you _make _these?"

"Guilty…"

"Wow…" she let out a breath. "That's… that's pretty impressive how bad they are. Wait a minute…" she said, sniffing the Poffin and getting an unmistakable whiff of Kelpsy Berry. "This is _my_ recipe, isn't it?"

Realising it was too late to lie to her; Elliot decided it would be better to just admit the truth. "Yes… I stole the recipe from you. I just…" he let out a little chuckle. "I just wanted to help you with all the work you had to do. It just backfired a little."

For a moment, all was silent. Elliot didn't dare look at his girlfriend, suddenly terrified he would be on the receiving end of her fiery anger. Make that two things Elliot was afraid of. His mother and his girlfriend, especially when they were angry. Some man he was. He was waiting, wholly expecting for a repeat of the frying pan to the face incident, but all of a sudden, he felt force collide with him. Arms wrapped around his waist. "Oh, Elliot!"

The force tipped Elliot backwards and with a screech, both teenagers fell sprawling onto the couch, sending a hissing Meowth scurrying away in terror. They both burst out laughing, as they adjusted themselves so they were lying next to each other.

"That's a happy noise!" Elliot said in shock, wrapping his arms around Sienna. "I thought you were gonna be angry with me!"

"Oh Elliot…" Sienna grinned, her beautiful eyes dancing and sparkling. "Your Poffins taste horrible. I could never even hope to sell them. But that doesn't matter! What matters is how sweet you were to do that! You were just trying to help me, and believe me… that means so much to me!"

Elliot flushed red with happiness as he held his girlfriend close. "Sienna…"

The two kissed for a few moments, entwined in each other's arms, feeling the warmth of each other's responsive bodies. When they broke apart again, Sienna nuzzled close to Elliot's chest, her small body fitting snugly next to him on the sofa.

"Elliot…?"

"Yeah…?" he whispered back, kissing her nose sweetly.

"Promise me something?"

"What…?" he murmured softly, stroking her hair, expecting something beautiful and eloquent to come tumbling from Sienna's mouth, something about staying together forever or such like, but he almost fell off the couch when she gave him her answer.

"Please don't ever cook again."

Elliot could only cough and splutter in his surprise at first, but then he regained himself and snuggled in closer to his girlfriend.

"Don't worry." He said, breathing in her soft, sweet scent. "Never again. _Never _again. And that really _is _a promise."

And so, Elliot's attempts at Poffin making became a story as infamous as the pickle and lasagne tale. It was used as fodder for every time Elliot ever dared to go near a kitchen again, and the memories haunted him for years following. He could never even _look_ at a Poffin the same way again…

The Proof is in the Poffin

Fin.

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Wow, could not believe the response to this after two days! I couldn't believe how quickly the lovely ArchXDeath got his review in, thank you so much! And big thanks to the lovely Sniper Mudkip, splashstorm, eeveelutionluvr, Hikaru-pichu and May and Dawn are the best for their speedy reviews! Thank you!  
><strong>**I always envisioned Poffins to be a cake type thing cooked like a pancake, so this is how they're depicted in Spirited and its extension. And even if it is canon-ly incorrect, its Sienna's take on it, so it's all good!  
><strong>**This was a fun one to write! I always had in my head Elliot was a terrible cook and I wanted to show_ just_ how terrible he was. Perhaps those with little baking experience won't understand the mistakes he made, so I tried to make up the humour in other places!  
><strong>**Trivia, folks! The recipe Elliot uses to make his poffin batter is actually my own cupcake recipe! ****UK**** readers (as I have no idea how to convert this to American measurements) can follow this simple and easy recipe that I've always used!**

_**150g (or 5oz) butter or margarine  
><strong>**150g (or 5oz) caster sugar  
><strong>**3 large eggs  
><strong>**Splash of milk  
><strong>**200g (or 7oz) self raising flour  
><strong>**Pinch of salt  
><strong>**Vanilla/chocolate/dried fruits, or whatever flavourings you desire!**_

_**Preheat an oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  
><strong>**Line a cupcake tray with paper cases.  
><strong>**Beat the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.  
><strong>**Crack the three eggs in a cup and beat together.  
><strong>**Add egg a little at a time, beating with every instalment.  
><strong>**Add a tiny splash of milk.  
><strong>**Sieve in the flour and the pinch of salt.  
><strong>**Carefully fold in the flour with a metal spoon.  
><strong>**Add your choice of flavouring (if using) and stir in.  
><strong>**Spoon the mix into the paper cases. This recipe should give you 24 cupcakes or 12 muffins.  
><strong>**Bake for 12-15 minutes or till golden brown and springy to touch.  
><strong>**Top Tip: you can tell if a cupcake is cooked through by inserting a knife or skewer into the cake and it comes out clean.  
><strong>**Once cooled, decorate with your choice of icings, toppings and various other goodies!  
><strong>**Enjoy! **_

**Now, here's some more trivia: Elliot's mother's name is Caroline. She also very rarely calls Elliot with his second name, Alexander, unless she's ****_very _****annoyed with him.  
><strong>**Now, I'm starting to get the inklings of a plot for the Spirited Sequel. But I need to ask a question. Should Nathan be the villain again?  
><strong>**Please read and review!  
><strong>**OceanSpiral**


	4. Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms

_Hello everyone! OceanSpiral here again. This is a fic based on an idea that I've had kicking around in my head for some time. I've always thought that something that I couldn't really focus on in Spirited, but what I really wanted to, was the relationship between Lance and Elliot. You see a few snippets here and there, but you don't really get the whole picture. As Elliot is one of my favourite characters and I just love writing him, I thought I would give him some more attention and write this brotherly fic. This is a fic in which Elliot visits Blackthorn with his brother a few days after New Years', but gets challenged to a battle with Lance's cousin Clair. Lance, surprisingly decides to join in the battle, and the two brothers have a tag team battle against Clair and Lance's grandfather. This is set four months after the end of Spirited and a few days prior to "The Proof is in the Poffin"_

_Now onto the story!_

* * *

><p>It was only two days after the birth of the New Year, but the celebrations had long since been forgotten, the hangovers had subsided, and the decorations had been cleared away. The festivities had ended and the January blues were already starting to sink in. Lance pondered the sudden fleetingness of the festivities that had been taking place over the past month as he sat inside his warm office in the Elite Four stronghold of Indigo Plateau. He watched the snow swirl around in the brisk winds, letting out a sigh. He glanced at the clock above his door. He grimaced as he saw five minutes past four. His guest was late. And it was already getting dark.<p>

His eyes glanced around his warm, ornately decorated office. In the low light emanating from the desk lamp, the various reds all around him seemed to glow, soothing his agitated spirit. He leaned back in his desk chair, producing a Pokeball and idly spinning it on one finger to pass the time. He debated turning on the small TV, but he decided against it, preferring to sit in silence. All that was on the TV on this time of year were programmes talking about changing your life, losing weight, doing something amazing or such like. It infuriated Lance. If you weren't motivated enough to change something about your life any normal day of the week, you weren't going to succeed simply because it was the start of a new year. And all these New Years Resolutions? People only started those things because they felt _obligated _to. They never stuck to them.

A knock at the door disturbed Lance's thoughts. "Enter." He called emotionlessly.

The door swung open, sending a blast of cold air inside that Lance felt even from where he was sitting. He set his Pokeball down as the figure of a young man entered the room, slamming the door behind him. Lance winced as a shudder ran through his entire office and even his bookcases wobbled ominously.

"Careful." Lance chided the figure. "Are you trying to break everything in here?"

"Sorry!" the young man grinned good-naturedly. "It's good to see you! Happy New Year!"

Lance grunted in reply, and then shook his head fervently as he laid eyes on the figure of his brother, Elliot. He watched as his half brother, almost fifteen years his junior, shook the flakes of snow from his thick brown hair, cleaned off his glasses, and then hung his coat up, sending drops of melting snow everywhere, all over his posh carpet. Lance chose to ignore it as his brother came across and sat opposite him.

For a second, both brothers said nothing, simply staring at each other. Neither knew what to say. Eventually Lance broke the silence. "How are you?" he asked stiffly.

Elliot looked a little surprised that his brother had instigated the conversation for once. "I'm pretty good, yeah… you?"

Lance nodded. "Fine." There was another pause. "How's your mother?"

"She's good!" Elliot replied a little too enthusiastically.

"How's Father?"

"Last time I saw him he was passed out underneath the dining table, half naked, clutching a bottle of vodka."

A faint hint of a smile adorned Lance's face. "Sounds like Father." He hesitated again. "And how's Sienna?"

"Oh, she's great." Elliot said animatedly. "She's doing really well for herself."

"You still together?"

"Of course!"

"Good." Lance nodded his approval. "A commendable job, getting that one. She's too good for you."

"Eh…thanks… I think."

Silence fell again. The conversation had ground to a halt, as it normally did when it came to the two brothers, especially when making pleasantries. Both men looked at each other and then looked away. They repeated this several times. Lance found himself unable to find anything to say, so said nothing. Elliot shifted uncomfortably in his chair, pondering why on earth he had been summoned here if all they were going to do was sit in silence for the three days he was here.

"So… so why did you wanna see me?"

Lance looked at him like he was mad. "Is it not customary for family to be in each other's company at the holiday season?"

Elliot couldn't really argue with that. "Well, yeah, I guess so." He said with a shrug. "But I thought it might be for something important…"

"Father says we should… interact more." He said gruffly with a hesitating air. "We have not seen each other since Sienna was hospitalized."

"But, Lance, you're always so busy with the Pokemon League and stuff…"

"Well…I _can_ make a little time for my little brother." Lance said.

Elliot stopped in surprise. He looked at his brother, feeling a slight blush redden his cheeks. That was most unlike his brother. "Gee… that's… that's nice of you, Lance." Elliot blushed, scratching the back of his neck.

Lance grunted.

"So…" Elliot searched for a topic of conversation and decided to go with the safe option. "Are you excited about seeing all the new Elite Four challengers?"

Lance shrugged.

"I know one of the trainers who's going to be challenging you this year," Elliot said with a little grin. "Scott Harper. He's the little brother of one of Sienna's friends. He's an over-confident, cocky annoying little pain in the neck…"

"He'll do well then, those types always do." Lance said with a resigned sigh. "I'll be glad when the thing's over."

"It hasn't even started yet," Elliot found the need to point out. "It won't _be _starting for a few months yet."

"And thank Arceus for that,"

Elliot grinned at his big brother. He couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Lance, having not much of a life outside the Indigo Plateau, forever either holed up in his office doing paperwork or sparring for sport with the other Elite Four members, with very little time for family or friends. He was about to open his mouth to say something else, but all of a sudden the phone began to ring. The shrill noise cut straight through them and Lance immediately snatched up the receiver to dull the noise.

"Do you want me to go?" Elliot mouthed.

Lance shook his head vehemently, and then muttered "Hello?" into the phone piece.

"Good evening, Big Cousin!"

"_Great._" Lance thought as he heard that simpering sweet voice at the other end. He cleared his throat officially. "Good evening, Clair. How are you?"

Elliot visibly deflated in his chair at the mention of Clair's name. As many people knew, Lance was the grandson of the famous Dragon master in Blackthorn City, and Clair, the Gym Leader of the aforementioned city, was his cousin. Now, Elliot was not related to these people as it was Lance's mother who had descended from the Dragon Clan, and as a result, the Dragon Masters and the people of the Dragon Clan had never taken kindly to Elliot, even as a child. They looked down at him with disdain, and refused to have anything to do with him as he grew up. This had proven very awkward when Elliot had inevitably come to battle Clair for his final Johto League badge. Clair had taken an instant dislike to him as soon as he entered her Gym, recognising him almost immediately. It was only made worse when Elliot won against her…

"I'm very well!" Clair replied at the other end of the phone. "Grandfather asked me to phone you at New Year's."

"And he's incapable of doing this himself?"

"He's too busy, you know that, Lance."

"Hmph. What does the old man want, anyway?"

"Jeez, Lance, you're all business." Clair chastised him from the other end of the phone. "Listen, Grandfather wanted you to come up to Blackthorn for a few days."

Lance's face eroded into a deep scowl. "Why?" he growled at the younger girl.

"He didn't _give _a reason!" Clair said, sounded agitated already. "He, like, just wanted you to come up."

"I just can't drop everything to come up to Blackthorn at his beck and call." Lance said coldly. "It's the middle of winter, travelling is treacherous even for my Dragonite. That and all the paperwork I have to do! Besides, I have Elliot staying with me for the moment."

"Elliot?" Clair's voice held a tinge of disgust. "Your silly little half-brother? Why on earth is _he_ staying with you?"

"I'll have whomever I want staying with me, Clair, that is no concern of yours."

"Fine, whatever." Clair said, huffing. "Bring him along with you, I don't care. Just be sure you're here for grandfather. Okay? See you later."

"What, Clair? We didn't agree on—!"

But before Lance could finish his protests, Clair had cut off the call. Lance looked enraged at the receiver in his hand before slamming it down with as much force as he could muster. From his place at the end of his desk, Elliot winced. He looked up at his brother and attempted to say with as much light-heartedness as he could. "Is Clair giving you bother, Lance?"

"That's one way of putting it…" Lance said darkly, running a hand through his spiky red hair, making it stick up in bizarre quiffs. "She wants me to go to Blackthorn city to meet her and Grandfather."

"Oh…" Elliot said, failing to hide the disappointment in his voice. He had privately so been looking forward to spending a few days with his big brother, hoping to finally make some headway with their relationship. "Are… are you gonna go?"

"The old man will have my head if I don't." Lance said with a guilty sigh. He then looked at his little brother intently. "Listen… why don't you come with? There's no reason for you to hang around the Indigo Plateau waiting for me."

Elliot almost fell off the chair. "But… but your family hate me!"

"All the reason to bring you along." Lance deadpanned. "Maybe if I bring you, they'll let me leave earlier…"

"Oh, gee, thanks. Is that all I am to you?"

Lance shot his brother a look he couldn't identify, before a small grin came onto his face. "Come on, get your stuff. We'll leave just now."

Elliot shook his head, but got to his feet obediently. This was definitely not his idea of brotherly bonding…

* * *

><p>"Come on Tropius, push through it!" Elliot willed his Tropius as they soared above the Johto region, many hours later. The temperature so high up in the air was unbearably cold, and a violent snowstorm was raging. Snow and rain drilled into Elliot's body, his teeth chattered, his skin burned with the cold and he tried to pull his thick winter coat further around his body. Tropius moaned pitifully as the cold winds whipped into him and made it difficult for him to remain streamlined.<p>

In front of them, Lance soared ahead on his Dragonite, his cloak billowing in the wind. Both rider and Pokemon seemed unaffected by the cold, and Elliot cursed inwardly, wishing to every God in existence that the journey would be over and over _quick._

Thankfully whoever was up there seemed to listen and after only six hours of travelling in the bitter cold, the two touched down in Blackthorn City. Totally expecting to be ushered straight to Blackthorn Gym or Dragon's Den, Elliot was more than a little surprised when Lance quickly started pushing him in the direction of the Pokemon Centre, muttering something about "catching their death of cold".

Elliot felt like he had sunk into a nice hot bath as soon as he entered the pleasant warmth of the Pokemon centre. He very quickly realized that he was lucky it was quite late at night, as if it had been earlier in the day, the sight of an Elite Four member casually strolling into a Pokemon Centre would have caused an uproar. Before he knew it, Elliot had been pushed into a soft fluffy sofa. He relaxed in the heavenly softness, his freezing limbs starting to thaw and his light-headedness beginning to subside. He closed his eyes happily, not caring about anything apart from the fact he was now warm and content.

"Here."

Elliot snapped his eyes open and saw Lance holding out a steaming hot cup of something. He took it gingerly and sniffed it, a warm chocolately smell drifting up his nostrils.

"Drink it. It'll warm you up," Lance said, taking a seat next to his brother. He too clutched one of the cups and took a drink, wincing only slightly at the molten chocolate slipping down his throat.

Elliot blew on his for a few moments before taking a sip. The chocolate coated his tongue and warmed him from the inside out. He let out a contented sigh, feeling sleepier and sleepier as time went on. Lance watched his brother, and then glanced at the clock. It was nearing midnight now. Taking an executive decision, Lance spoke up.

"Listen. We'll stay here tonight. We'll just tell Clair the journey took longer than expected."

"Eh? Are you sure that's wise…?" Elliot asked, but he was that tired he could barely even hold up his cup, let alone argue to a competent level. "She'll kill you if she finds out you're lying."

"I wouldn't call it lying, Elliot, I'd call it "bending the truth"." Lance corrected with a well-meaning grin. "Besides, I know Clair. She isn't going to take kindly to us ramming on her door at midnight. She values her "beauty sleep" far too much."

Elliot had to laugh.

"Come on; let's get a room for the night."

"Sure."

* * *

><p>It was late. Lance wasn't sure what time it was. The snowstorm had finally settled and the inky black sky was finally clear, with only a few flakes still floating lazily to the ground. In the bed on the other side of the room, Elliot snored softly, completely dead to the world. Lance lay in his own bed, wide awake, his mind refusing to be stilled. He couldn't help but wonder what on earth his grandfather wanted him for so eagerly that he would get Clair to call him up two days after New Year's. Whatever it was, he reasoned, it must be important.<p>

He turned over on his side to look at his slumbering half brother. A stab of annoyance erupted at the back of his mind. "_If only this could have waited a few days… now Elliot's been dragged into this…_"

It was with a heavy heart that Lance fell asleep that night.

* * *

><p>The regulation Pokemon Centre alarm clock woke both men at eight o'clock exactly. As the shrill beeping cut through their pleasant sleep like a knife, both men let out identical groans. Lance reached across and slammed his fist into the alarm clock, shutting it off (and almost breaking it in the process) and grumpily rolled over again.<p>

"Lance… we should probably get up…" Elliot said groggily, grasping around for his glasses on the nightstand.

"Mmmphf…" came the muffled reply.

Replacing his glasses on his face, the world coming into sharp focus once again, Elliot tossed a pillow at his brother, still curled up in his bed. His brother didn't even react as the pillow practically bounced off his head.

"I'm going to shower. You better be up by the time I get back." Elliot threatened.

Lance growled in response. The door banged shut a few moments later, but Lance still remained firmly in his bed. It took him a further fifteen minutes to reluctantly drag himself out, and a further ten to sleepily dress himself. By the time he was pulling on his boots, Elliot burst through the door again, washed, dressed and dried, looking a lot happier than Lance felt he could deal with.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" Elliot grinned, walking to the window and opening it, a blast of chilly winter air swirling inside the tiny room, making Lance shiver.

Upon looking out the window, Lance supposed the day was pretty. The sky was perfectly clear, a light blue in colour that reflected off the thick blanket of snow, sending sparkles across their vision. Blackthorn City was Lance's home, after all, and he appreciated its beauty more than most people did. However, he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it _this_ morning and instead growled at Elliot to follow him to Blackthorn Gym.

Elliot was amazed when the two of them rolled up to Blackthorn Gym and found a few trainers already standing out there, waiting for the Gym's doors to open.

"_That's dedication…"_ he thought admirably, looking at the array of young teenagers all wrapped up against the wintry morning.

Most of the teenagers seemed to recognise Lance and stepped back in awe, murmuring in astonishment at the sight of such a well known Elite Four member. However one seemed to take an issue as both men strode past them, cutting straight to the front doors.

"Hey, there's a line for getting in here!"

Lance turned a cold stare onto the boy that had spoken to him. This would have ordinarily made _anyone _back off, but not this hot-headed boy. "I'm expected here." Lance told the teenagers firmly.

"Hey, that's Lance! The Elite Four member!" a girl murmured in fear, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Don't disrespect him! He could take us _all_ out with one Pokemon!"

"Please!" the boy said. "I don't care! They say Clair is almost as strong as an Elite Four member! If I beat her, I can beat _him_!"

"Be quiet, you little punk." Lance said darkly. "You'd do well to show some respect where it's deserved. There's a world of difference between being "almost as strong" and "as strong" as an Elite Four member."

"Yeah? So what? I don't care! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" the boy held out a Pokeball.

Before Lance could say anything more, Elliot clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder and pushed past him to face the boy. "Don't be stupid, kid. My brother would beat you before you had a chance to shout your first command. Besides, you're better saving your energy. Clair is going to give you enough troubling with wiping out half your Pokemon."

"What?" the boy yelled, irate. "How dare you? I'll take you on as well!"

The two brothers were lucky, for at that moment the doors to the gym swung open and the gym guard came through. "Ah, Lance. Your cousin is expecting you."

"Excellent," Lance smiled. "Come along, Elliot."

For Elliot, entering back to Blackthorn Gym was like déjà vu. Déjà vu mixed with a horrible sense of dread. Especially when he thought of the Gym Leader who resided here. Clair wholly resented Elliot, not just for him being related to Lance, but also for the defeat she had sustained due to him. He knew she wasn't going to take kindly to him being there…

"Clair? Grandfather?" Lance called out inquiringly in the seemingly deserted gym.

"Ah, Lance!" a familiar female voice echoed through the gym almost straight away. "Good to see you again."

From the end of the gym, a woman with sharp, defined features stepped out of the shadows. Her long blue hair was tied up in a high ponytail, strands of it cascading down her face. Her slim body was clad in blue almost the exact colour of her hair and eyes. As she strolled up to Lance to hug him, she pointedly ignored Elliot.

"How are you?" Clair asked her cousin warmly.

"Fine. And yourself?"

"Good," she grinned.

"Where's Grandfather? I expected him to be here."

"He'll be here shortly. He slept in this morning. You know what the old man's like."

"I guess that's were Lance gets it from then," Elliot said without thinking.

Clair glared at Elliot's interruption who winced under her stony gaze. She then stared at Lance accusingly. "I see you brought your little brother."

"Hey, you suggested it."

"I didn't think you would actually do it." Clair said through fiercely gritted teeth. "He'll just get in the way. We need to go down to Dragon's Den, and you know as well as I do that no-one who isn't family, a member of the Dragon Clan or who doesn't have express permission to be there can't go down there."

"Elliot _is _family." Lance said firmly. "He's my brother, and I'm _your _cousin. So like it or not, he is family. Besides, Elliot gained permission to enter the Dragon's Den long ago when he defeated you in battle. Don't tell me you still hold a grudge for something that happened three years ago? That's just childish."

Clair started and a look of rage spread over her face which she quickly redirected in Elliot's direction. Elliot ignored her however; suddenly feeling very touched at the uncharacteristic speech Lance had come out with on his behalf.

"Lance? Clair?" a hoarse voice sounded in the gym.

All three Pokemon trainers spun around and saw the Dragon Elder himself slowly walk up to them. He was an old man, with skin the texture of leather, deep wrinkles eroding his face. However, his ice blue eyes still danced and sparkled with life. A young man's eyes.

"Good morning, Grandfather." Lance said respectfully.

"Good morning Lance. Clair. Elliot."

"G…good morning, Sir!" Elliot said in surprise as he was remembered and included. He found himself fighting the urge to bow to the Dragon Elder.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Elliot." The Dragon Elder said. However, he didn't seem angry at all, which surprised him.

"I'm just… here with Lance…" he mumbled, embarrassed.

"Hmm." The old man nodded approvingly.

"He can't be here!" Clair said at once, irked that her grandfather didn't hold the same issue she so evidently did. "He has no business with what we're doing."

"Hush, child. The boy can be here if he likes." The Dragon Elder chided.

"Pah!" Clair huffed.

"Clair is still sore from the loss of her battle with Elliot," Lance couldn't resist but chip in.

The Dragon Elder frowned at this. "Pride is a terrible thing, Clair. I thought you would have learned a lesson in humility from all the losses you've suffered from due to that quality."

While anyone else would have retreated inside themselves or felt embarrassed or awkward at this chastisement, this was not the case for Clair. Unfortunately, she saw red. The idea of being scolded in front of her cousin and her cousin's idiot brother enraged her. Her loss against Elliot still stung and the sight of him in front of her angered her more than she cared to admit. The dent in her pride burned and her hand flew to her belt. She grabbed a Pokeball and held it up, turning it towards Elliot.

"Fine! Then let's go, right now! I challenge you to a Pokemon battle, Elliot!"

"What!" Elliot gasped.

"Yes! Right here and right now. This'll prove once and for all who's the better Pokemon trainer!"

"Whoa, Clair!" Elliot gasped. "What the heck! Why?"

"You think you're such a good battler, but it's been three years since we last battled! I've improved a lot more than you could ever hope to!"

From behind them, the Dragon Elder let out a haughty sigh. "Such a hothead."

"Well? Do you accept my challenge?" Clair demanded.

Elliot raised his hands and let them flop back down to his sides again. "I… I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Excellent!" Clair enthused, sounding as excited as a child with a new plaything. "So I'll make this a two-on-two battle, no time limit and no substitutions and we can—"

"Wait." Lance's voice cut in, stopping a gabbling Clair in her path. "How about we make this a little more interesting?"

"More interesting?" Clair looked at her cousin like he was mad. "How so?"

"Heh," Lance clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder. "A tag battle. You and a partner against me and Elliot. Sound good?"

"WHAT?" Clair cried in outrage "No! That's an unfair advantage! Lance, you're an Elite Four Member!"

"And?" He deadpanned. "You're the one who boasts that she can "hold her own against the Elite Four". Don't tell me you're chickening out, Clair…?"

"N…never!" Clair said at once. "But who am I going to get to be my partner? I need someone strong enough to make this fair."

"I'll do it, child."

"Yeah! Grandfather's a great partner for you." Lance grinned as the old man passed him to join Clair. "He's a veteran of the Dragon Clan. You can't get much fairer than that."

Clair looked helplessly at the old man standing next to her. She let out a vicious sigh. "Oh very well." She said haughtily. "Come on grandfather, let's go over there and get ready."

As Clair stalked off, her hair and cape swishing violently, a rather bemused Dragon Elder shuffling along after her, Elliot looked up at his older brother and let out an exasperated sigh.

"_What on _earth _have I gotten myself into _this _time_?"

* * *

><p>"Okay, so this will be a four-on-four Pokemon battle. Each challenger will use two Pokemon each. No substitutions allowed. No time limit. Are we ready to begin?" the referee called.<p>

"Yes!" Lance called confidently.

"As I'll ever be…" Elliot murmured.

A the Dragon Elder and Clair called out that they too were ready, Elliot looked up at Lance, suddenly feeling horribly overwhelmed. Was this even going to work? Elliot had never battled alongside Lance before, only ever against him. It felt bizarre being on the same side of the field. "Lance…" he said tentatively. "Is this a good idea?"

"No, it's not a _good _idea."

Elliot deflated.

"It's a brilliant idea." Lance said with a grin.

"Great…" Elliot sighed.

"You may begin!"

"Ladies first," Lance offered towards Clair, who smiled wickedly.

"With pleasure," she said, producing a Pokeball. "Go, Dragonair!"

"_Oh, I really hoped she wasn't going to use that one…_" Elliot cursed inwardly. He then watched in horror as the Dragon Master sent out a Kingdra. "_Brilliant. Just brilliant. I really hate Dragon Pokemon._"

"Hmm." Lance murmured, looking at the Dragonair and Kingdra in front of him. He plucked a Pokeball from his belt and spun it around on his finger, before catching it again. "I think I'll take it easy on them."

"Take it easy on them?" Elliot hissed in agitation. "Are you nuts?"

"Relax," Lance said. "This'll be a breeze. Just make sure you take care of that Kingdra with one of your Grass Pokemon. Roserade would be good. Or Tropius."

"I do not need you to tell me how to fight my battles!" Elliot hissed once more, before grabbing his Pokeballs. He blushed ferociously, really not wanting to admit this. "Besides, I was gonna use Roserade anyway…"

"Of course," Lance grinned.

Ignoring his brother, Elliot called out his Pokemon. "Roserade, let's go!"

"And I'll choose Gyarados." Lance said with an almost nonchalant flick of his wrists.

Elliot could only shake his head as the giant blue serpentine Pokemon burst out from its Pokeball, easily dwarfing his _and _their rival's Pokemon. "_Only Lance would deem using a Gyarados as "taking it easy on them_" _Geez…_"

"All right, we'll kick this off! Dragonair, use Thunder Wave on the Gyarados!"

"Kingdra, use Twister!"

"_They don't waste any time_!" Elliot thought panicked.

"Quickly, Gyarados. Use Surf to sweep the battlefield."

Before either Clair or the Dragon Elder's Pokemon could attack, a huge tidal wave of water was speeding across the battlefield. Elliot yelped in surprise. That had been so fast! It was amazing! However, as strong as the attack was, Kingdra and Dragonair, being such strong swimmers easily rode the waves, coming out of it unscathed.

Elliot looked at Lance in shock, wondering why on earth he had ordered an attack he knew would have no effect on their Pokemon. But then, Lance eyed Elliot expectantly and he understood. Lance wasn't trying to inflict damage on them; he was just trying to _stop _them from attacking! Stopping them momentarily to let Elliot launch an offence!

Snapping into his senses, Elliot got ready. "Roserade, use Stun Spore now!"

The cloud of yellow particles swept across the battlefield, hitting straight into the Dragonair and Kingdra as they emerged from the giant wave. Both Pokemon stopped in their tracks, the effects of the spores immediately starting to show an effect.

"Nice work, Elliot." Lance commended him. "Good strategy."

"Thanks." Elliot said, grinning with pride.

However, things quickly heated up again for the two brothers.

"Dragonair, shake that off! Now!"

Whilst Kingdra still suffered from the effects of the spores, Dragonair seemed to get rid of them almost immediately. Lance cursed to himself. "Stupid Shed Skin! Right, Elliot, you take the Kingdra, I'll take care of the Dragonair."

Elliot nodded firmly, but his bravado was wavering in the face of this competition. He realised too late that the Kingdra that belonged to the Dragon Elder probably had some pretty serious Flying type moves. That could spell serious trouble for Elliot's favoured Grass types… but then again, Elliot was never one to pay too much attention to type matchups. He couldn't, what with a team that was so specialized. He had to just accept the difficulties, deal with them and find a way around them!

"Okay, Roserade! Use Magical Leaf!"

Roserade leapt back obediently, threw back its rose-like arms and expelled forth a barrage of purple coloured leaves, glowing with mysterious energy. The leaves shot through the air, their edges razor sharp, heading straight for Kingdra!

"Don't let it hit you, Kingdra! Use Hydro Pump to blast those leaves away!"

Kingdra without even hesitating released a torrent of twisting, spiralling water that was so strong and powerful it engulfed the cloud of leaves, rendering them soaked and useless.

"Oh no!" Elliot cried in panic. "Quick, get out of the way!"

Roserade was able to quickly scurry out of the way, much to Elliot's relief. Nearby, Lance's Gyarados and Clair's Dragonair were locked in combat, but as soon as Clair caught sight of Elliot looking at her, she quickly redirected.

"Dragonair! Use Hyper Beam on that Roserade!"

Elliot cursed as Dragonair began readying the attack. As Kingdra sent forth another Hydro Pump in Roserade's direction, Elliot could hardly give his orders to dodge quickly enough. Elliot's mind quickly began calculating a strategy. Dragonair's Hyper Beam was a huge attack that would obliterate almost anything in its path. If that was fired at the same time as another Hydro Pump, Roserade would be left with nowhere to go. That meant, Roserade couldn't stay on the ground! It was too dangerous! But where else could he go…?

It came to him in a flash of inspiration. "Roserade! Get up on top of Gyarados!"

Roserade with agility and speed like that of a ninja quickly darted in and out of the Hydro Pumps, jumped up onto Gyarados's body and quickly scurried up until he was standing, well wobbling, on top of Gyarados's head. Just in time too, as the Hyper Beam, finally readied, powered past, narrowly missing Gyarados, but hitting the exact spot Roserade had once stood in.

At the sight of Elliot's Roserade on his Gyarados's head, Lance turned a confused face to his brother. "Elliot, what the hell are you doing?"

"Just trust me! Get Gyarados to launch Roserade!"

"Why?"

"Does it matter? Just do it!"

Lance cast one last confused glance at him before shrugging. "All right, Gyarados! You heard the man! Launch Roserade, now!"

Letting out a roar, Gyarados drew back and then propelled its giant head forward. Taking the force behind the launch like a springboard, Roserade flew forward, sailing high above both the giant Dragonair and the Kingdra.

"Shoot that thing down!" Clair cried hysterically.

"Don't let it! Use Sweet Scent, now!"

With a furious wave of its arms, a brilliant display of pink dust, spotted with light pink sparkles and pink petals erupted from the bouquets of flowers at the end of Roserade's arms. The pink dust fell on the Pokemon underneath, and immediately Elliot saw the effects he wanted. Both Dragonair and Kingdra's eyes lidded and their bodies became a little limp and as they moved, they were noticeably slower and groggier.

"Shake it off!" Clair screeched.

"Quickly, Roserade! Use Magical Leaf now!"

This time, it was a direct hit. Both Kingdra and Dragonair cried out in pain and as Roserade turned a graceful somersault and landed neatly on the ground, Clair let out a scream of outrage.

A smile burst onto Lance's face. "My turn now." He grinned. "Gyarados, use Dragon Rage!"

Gyarados, with a mighty roar, let out a burst of purpley blue energy that hit the Dragonair and Kingdra head on. While the Dragonair seemed to withstand it, the Kingdra was a goner. It faltered, trying to stay upright, before giving up completely and collapsing to the ground, defeated.

"Kingdra is unable to battle!" the judge called.

The Dragon Elder recalled his Kingdra without a word. The next Pokemon that he released made Elliot shudder in fear.

"_Great… a Charizard. Roserade doesn't stand a chance!_"

"Dragonair, take out Gyarados with Blizzard!"

"Oh, no!" Lance cursed. "Gyarados, fight back with Twister!"

"Don't leave _me_ to take on the Charizard!" Elliot cried to no avail as ice and wind collided viciously. "Damn it, Lance!" he turned straight back to his own battle as Roserade was slowly being advanced on by the Charizard. He thought fast. Most of his Roserade's attacks would be burned to a crisp before they even had a chance to get near it. He had to think clever this time. "Roserade, use Leech Seed!"

Roserade drew back and spat out a tiny seed that pricked onto the Charizard's body. The seed was so tiny that even Charizard didn't notice. For a moment, Elliot thought it hadn't worked, until the Charizard let out a little shudder and looked around confused, as some of its energy was zapped.

"Quickly, Roserade! Now for Poison Sting!"

This was a strategy Elliot always utilized when he was faced with such an obvious and dangerous type disadvantage. If his regular attacks didn't work, all he had to do was find a way to sap the enemy Pokemon's energy while he simply held back and kept out of trouble. Leech Seed and Poison Sting was an excellent combination to sap the Pokemon's energy and keep some for his Pokemon too!

The Charizard let out a noticeable shudder as the poison darts hit its body. "_Yes!_" Elliot thought intriumph. "_Now even if Roserade gets knocked out, so long as I just bide my time, the Charizard will faint eventually!_ _Man, I love Grass Types!_"

"Elliot, move!"

All of a sudden, Lance collided with him and knocked him to the ground, just as a massive explosion blasted across the arena. As the whole gym rumbled and shook, dust and debris falling all around them, Elliot panicked, wondering what the hell had just happened.

When everything settled, Elliot made out Lance's Gyarados, barely staying upright and Clair's Dragonair looking weak, battered, bruised and bloodied. "What the hell happened!" Elliot cried shrilly.

"Colliding Hyper Beam. Don't ever try it." Lance said dryly, pushing himself back up.

"Don't worry… I won't! That's mental!"

"Charizard, use Flamethrower on the Roserade!" the old man, seeing an opportunity was quick to seize it.

"Crap! Roserade, get out of the way!"

Roserade was only just able to dodge, but the flames caught his arm as he evaded, making him cry out in pain. Even worse, the effects of the Leech Seed and Poison Sting didn't seem to be kicking in just yet! The Charizard looked healthy still!

Before Elliot could say anything else, he was distracted as a stray Hydro Pump suddenly slammed into Roserade, sending it flying.

"Roserade!" Elliot cried in terror as his Pokemon hit off the wall, slid down it and faceplanted to the ground. "Oh, God! Get up! Roserade!"

He was distracted by Gyarados as it bodily tackled Dragonair to the ground. The two blue serpentine Pokemon began to wrestle and they slammed against each other, bit each other, tore flesh, blood spurting in giant gushes. It was vicious! Elliot snuck a look at Lance, who was biting his lip furiously, a telltale sign he was feeling tense.

"Blizzard it, Dragonair!"

"Use Hydro Pump, Gyarados!"

The two attacks met furiously and another explosion of ice and water rippled across the arena. Shards of ice and huge splashes of water flew everywhere. The attack had been at such close range that both Pokemon simply weren't able to sustain it. Both Gyarados and Dragonair teetered on their feet and then crashed to the ground.

Elliot turned just in time to see Charizard swooping in towards his Roserade, still struggling to pull itself to its feet. Elliot could do nothing apart from watch in horror as his beloved Roserade took a full force Fire Blast. Its body was left horribly burnt, blackened and charred. He made tiny, pitiful cries as he tried to get up. He managed it somehow, rage burning in his eyes, ready for another fight. However, Elliot saw that Roserade was panting heavily, he could barely lift his limbs and he wavered as he stood. That Charizard was so strong! Even with Roserade regaining a steady bit of energy from the Leech Seed, Elliot knew it wouldn't be enough. Charizard would obliterate him with the next attack. Even though Elliot knew in his heart that Roserade probably could still battle on, he had no other choice to recall him. He couldn't stand to see his Pokemon suffer.

"Dragonair and Gyarados are unable to battle. Challenger Elliot has forfeited his Roserade. You all have one Pokemon remaining."

Lance looked at Elliot. "You made a good choice recalling Roserade."

"Well… well thanks…" Elliot said, pocketing Roserade's Pokeball. "But I'm not stupid. Roserade would have been obliterated by that Charizard. I couldn't let that happen."

Lance nodded. "Good for you."

"Come on, let's beat them and get this over with." Elliot pulled out another Pokeball, thinking carefully about this one. "Cacturne, I choose you!"

"Another Grass Type?" Clair taunted as his Pokemon burst onto the scene. "You'll take on my grandfather's Charizard with a puny little Grass Type? You'll never win like that!"

"It's not all about type match-ups, you know? You as a Dragon Type trainer should know that as well as anyone!"

"Pah!" Clair yelled, pulling out her own Pokeball. "Let's go, Dragonite!"

"Oh hell…" Elliot muttered worriedly as Clair's Dragonite burst from its ball.

"Come on, Lance! You're holding everyone up!" Clair turned her taunts to Lance, as he stood there stoically, not making a move to release a Pokemon. Elliot could tell he was calculating a strategy. "What's the matter, Lance?" Clair screeched hysterically. "You scared of my big, bad Dragonite?"

Lance grunted, irked. His hands moved to become poised on a Pokeball. "Perhaps I should fight fire with fire on this one. I choose Dragonite!"

Elliot laughed nervously as the two Dragonites faced off against each other, baring their teeth, roaring and stamping their giant feet. This was going to get messy.

"_Charizard and Dragonite versus Cacturne and Dragonite… wow… this is gonna be intense_!"

"Dragonite, start this off with a Fly! On the Cacturne!"

"I don't think so! Lance cried. "Dragonite, Fly up there with it! Don't let it attack Cacturne!"

As the two Dragonites pushed off into the air, they collided and began bodily attacking one another. Elliot winced at the raw display of power the two amazing Dragon Pokemon showed, but quickly got shocked back into attention when the Charizard began launching another offence in his direction. He realised this time that the Charizard was noticeably slower and took a moment to wince in pain every few seconds. The poison and Leech Seed were finally starting to kick in! And the Dragon Elder was none the wiser!

As Charizard swooped in, ready to blast Cacturne with a close range fire attack, Elliot yelled his command. "Use Faint Attack!"

Almost immediately, Cacturne without warning completely disappeared! Charizard, shocked, stopped completely in its tracks and seconds later, Cacturne reappeared right behind it! He nailed Charizard with such a strong attack that it went flying across the room and headbutted the wall, almost quite comically. However, it quickly righted itself and turned around, its eyes blazing. However, it was panting heavily, its eyes were lidded and it looked about ready to fall over. It was literally only a few moments from fainting. But the Dragon Elder called for its next attack anyway.

"Dodge, right now!" Elliot cried.

Cacturne was lucky it dodged when it did as no sooner had it jumped out of the way, a stray Ice Beam hit the ground exactly where Roserade had stood. However, Charizard charged straight into its path. Hollering in pain, it hit the ground hard.

Elliot held his breath, wondering if the giant orange dragon was going to get up. To his amazement, it did! It pushed itself to its feet, roaring, its beady eyes set on Cacturne. However, Elliot knew it didn't have much strength left. Casting a quick glance up, Elliot saw the two Dragonite still scrapping high up in the air. Looking to his right he saw Lance calmly issuing commands, whilst Clair's screeching voice reached his ear from even as far away as she was. He was safe to carry on without getting randomly attacked by Clair's Dragonite.

"Finish this, Cacturne! Use Needle Arm!"

Elliot was confident in his Pokemon's signature move, so he watched with pride as Cacturne's arms glowed white, and several razor sharp needle like protrusions burst out from them. It then sped towards Charizard, expertly dodging a feeble Ember attack and slammed its prickly arm straight into Charizard's flesh. It became embedded in its flank, drawing forth blood like a waterfall.

As Cacturne yanked out its needly arm and the spikes disappeared, Charizard wavered on its feet. For a moment, it seemed to regain itself and Elliot cursed out loud. However, just as it was about to take another step forward, a final shudder ran through it and it collapsed completely to the ground, defeated.

"Charizard is unable to battle!" the referee called.

"What?" Clair gasped. However, that one moment of distraction proved fatal to her as Lance's Dragonite tackled Clair's to the ground and delivered the final move, completely knocking it out.

"Clair's Dragonite is unable to battle! Lance and Elliot are the winners!"

"Yes!" Elliot cheered, jumping up and down, barely able to believe it. He darted up to his brother and outstretched his hand. "We won! High-five!"

Lance looked at him in puzzlement. "High… five?" he repeated slowly.

"Yeah!" Elliot cried, waving his hand again.

"Oh… okay…" Lance hesitantly slapped his hand into his brother's.

Elliot flashed a child-like grin in his brother's direction, as the Dragon Elder and a _very _annoyed Clair came up to them.

"We concede defeat, don't we Clair?" the Dragon Elder was smiling as he looked up to his furious granddaughter.

Clair muttered something unintelligible.

"_Don't _we, Clair?" he repeated, this time louder.

"Yes, grandfather." She said through gritted teeth.

The Dragon Elder nodded in satisfaction before turning to look at Lance and Elliot. "It was an excellent battle, Lance, Elliot." He said, and Elliot beamed with pride. "You two work well together. It's very obvious you are brothers, right to the bone."

"Thanks Grandfather," Lance grinned.

"Th… thank you, Sir!" Elliot added, barely able to believe it.

"Now that this is over, perhaps we can move on to the business at hand?" The Dragon Elder ventured. "I did call you here for a reason, Lance."

"Of course, Grandfather." Lance said willingly. "What do you need me for?"

"Well, we've recently discovered an influx of newly hatched Dratini in the Dragon's Den."

"Oh, well that's wonderful news!" Lance said at once.

"Except that one baby Dratini doesn't seem to be bonding with its mother." The Dragon Elder said gravely.

"Oh…" Lance said, looking sad. "That is… unwelcome news…"

Elliot looked at his brother for an explanation. "Dratini are rare enough Pokemon as it is." Lance told him patiently. "The Dragon Elders and the other member of the clan attempt to encourage as much breeding as possible in the Dragon's Den, where Dratini and Dragonair live peacefully away from poachers or collectors. As you can imagine, breeding Dratinis and finding their eggs unscathed is possibly even rarer than finding a Dratini in the wild. It's terrible news to hear of one not getting the care it needs. Without proper care from its mother, it will probably die."

"That's horrible." Elliot said with a sharp intake of breath. The idea of a baby Dratini struggling to stay alive filled him with an ingrained sense of sadness.

"That's why we called you here, Lance." The Dragon Elder concluded. As he spoke, both brothers noticed the Dragon Elder was holding out a Pokeball. "We need you to take this little one and give it the care and attention it needs. The only thing better than a mother to take care of it, is a loving trainer."

Lance took the Pokeball. "You want me to do it?" he asked in surprise.

The Dragon Elder nodded. "You're a spectacular Dragon Tamer. You'll be able to raise this little one excellently in place of its mother. Once it is fit and healthy, return it back to the Dragon's Den and we can reintroduce him into the wild."

Lance studied the Pokeball in his hand, containing the baby Dratini, pondering the Dragon Elder's request. For a horrible moment, Elliot expected his brother to throw the Pokeball back in the old man's face, shouting about "not his responsibility" or "don't have the time" or "I have too much work" or even "make Clair do it", but he didn't. Instead, much to Elliot's surprise, he pocketed the Pokeball.

"It'd be my pleasure." He said with an uncharacteristic warm smile.

* * *

><p>The two brothers bade their farewells to Clair and the Dragon Elder and then crossed back to the Pokemon Centre to gather their things in preparation for leaving. As Elliot packed away his clothes from the previous night, he looked across at his brother quizzically. A question had been burning in the back of his mind ever since he had seen Lance take that Pokeball from his grandfather.<p>

"Why did you do it?" he found himself asking, desperate to break the silence.

"Do what?"

"Take the Dratini. " he said, closing his bag. "I thought you'd… you know, be too busy to raise a little baby Pokemon."

"What makes you say that?" Lance asked, shrugging his bag on his shoulders.

"You're always "too busy"." Elliot said, failing to hide a slight tinge of bitterness in his voice.

"Not always." Lance argued.

There was a silence. Lance let out a sigh. "I took the Dratini because it needs a good trainer, all right…?"

Elliot raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. "I don't believe you."

"Believe it or not, Elliot, I do like taking care of Pokemon." Lance said with a sharp edge to his voice. He then softened a little. "Besides… " the next words he spoke surprised him as he gave them form, wondering where they were coming from. "…this little guy actually reminds me of you."

Elliot frowned. "I remind you of a Dratini? Thanks!" he said indignantly.

"It's metaphorical!" Lance said with a fierce, uncharacteristic blush. "This little guy got rejected by its mother. Probably kicked out because it was a runt, or weak, or something. It just… it kind of reminds me of you…"

Elliot knew where this was going. "You mean… like what father did…?"

Lance nodded. "Like the way Father never seemed to care much about what you did."

"That's in the past, Lance." Elliot shrugged. "Father treats us both equally now."

"Perhaps. But that's not the point." Lance said, looking away. What he was saying still surprised him. "I was your brother. I _am _your brother. It was my job to look after you when you were a kid. But there were times I barely even remembered you existed."

"Aww, Lance!" Elliot was blushing now. "We were kids back then! Come on; knock off all this sentimental crap. Everything's cool now anyway…"

"Heh. You still _are _a kid." Lance laughed, ruffling his little brother's hair affectionately.

Elliot found himself incapable of moving or saying anything at this strange display. Lance was totally different… Lance, right now… he was… he was so _warm_. His presence was so warm. He was normally so cold with a steel hard exterior. He had rarely shown Elliot any affection in all the years they had known each other. While they got on, they never showed each other any kind of physical affection. Whatever it was that had happened, something had inexplicably softened him.

"My little brother." Lance said finally, with a grin.

"Jeez, Lance, knock it off!" Elliot said, batting him away. "What's gotten into you?"

Lance said nothing. But that smile still remained.

"Gaaah!" Elliot cried, hoisting his bag up on his shoulders. "You're hopeless! Come on, let's get out of here! Let's go home!"

Lance could only grin to himself in amusement as he watched his embarrassed little brother stomp out of the Pokemon Centre room. He shook his head after him, and then looked down at the Pokeball he was holding in his hand, pondering his sudden sentimentality towards the boy. He tossed the Pokeball up and grabbed it again, thinking of the baby Dratini, rejected by its mother, sealed inside. It had no family, or anyone to protect it from the big bad world, apart from Lance. He was the only one that the baby Dratini could rely on. Lance realised then that that was the kind of responsibility a big brother had.

"_Maybe you can teach me to be a better big brother, little one._"

And with that, he pocketed the Pokeball and strode out of the room to catch up with his little brother.

Brothers in Arms  
>Fin.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, for the moment, this is the last short story to be updated to this for a while as I have an annoucement. **

**I'm starting work on Free Spirits: A Spirited Sequel :) **

**I'm aiming to have the Prologue submitted and published on the 10th July, on the exact same day, one year ago that Spirited was published! **

**My thanks to my lovely regular reviewes! **

**Sniper Mudkip: You know I love you! Can't wait to start beta-reading for you!**

**Splashstorm: Eeeek! GreenHornShipping! :) I love it! Thank you for the review! I love baking, so writing a cooking chapter is lovely! **

**Something dictionairy related: Welcome back! I'm hoping to write Monty's backstory as soon as I've gotten into the swing of the sequel. **

**eeveelutionluvr: Thanks for the suggestion! I have a basic plot idea, but I think it'll be one of those things that falls into place as I write.**

**Hikaru-pichu: Hehehe, Elliot is a terrible cook. Seriously. Sienna will never let him cook again. **

**ArchXDeath: Aww, you used my recipe! :) Thank you! How did they turn out for you? Somehow I can imagine Derek being a bit hapless when it comes to cooking! :)**

**Okay, so please read and review guys! See you in Free Spirits!**

**(Don't worry, I'll still add some more to this at some time. The next one will be Meloi's backstory)**


	5. A Blast from the Past: Part One: Meloi

Blast from the Past  
>Part One<br>Meloi

_Hey everybody! I've had a lot of people over the year of Spirited's publication asking me to reveal a little more about the backstories of two of Sienna's Pokemon, Meloi the spirited Mareep abused by a previous trainer, and Monty, a mysterious, under-levelled Persian. This two part story will attempt to shed some light on these Pokemons' backgrounds and pasts. So enjoy! And I'm sorry it's been such a long time coming!_

_The first part "Meloi" takes place a couple of months after Sienna's 16th__ Birthday._

_Now onto the story!_

* * *

><p>"Sienna?"<p>

The call went unheeded.

"Sienna?" she called again, this time in a sing-song voice.

Still no reply.

"Sienna?" this one was sharper.

She was still met with quiet.

"SIENNA!"

The girl in question, sixteen year old Sienna, who had been idly daydreaming in front of an episode of "_Pokemon Good Food_" almost fell off the chair as the loud, grating voice of her mother finally got through to her.

"Wh…what?" Sienna called out foolishly. "What did you say?"

Sienna heard her mother let out a haughty sigh, before stomping into the room. Her long browny blonde hair was scraped back into a tight ponytail that was doing an excellent job of a makeshift facelift. Suzanne's arms were clutching around a selection of heavy books, her face painted with the effort of holding them.

Sienna raised an eyebrow, not understanding the significance. "What are those?" she inquired.

"Books on Pokemon breeding." Suzanne said, dropping the books on the table with a flourish. They hit the wood with a loud, satisfying _thud. _"I borrowed them from Professor Oak when I was having problems breeding the Lillipups. He really is a mine of information. And I need you to bring them back to Professor Oak's."

Siennaa let out a tortured groan, her attention still mostly focused on _Pokemon Good Food_. There was a segment about Perfect Poffins coming on later in the show and she desperately wanted to see it. "And why do I have to return them? Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm busy." Suzanne replied deftly.

"_Busy with _what_?" _Sienna wanted to cry, but something made her bite her tongue. Her mother looked flushed and stressed. She didn't want to get an earful of her famous temper if she could help it.

"Go," Suzanne said again, firmly eyeing her daughter. "Come on. Professor Oak would be happy to see you, I'm sure."

The look in her mother's eyes told Sienna that the matter was _not _up for discussion. Besides, it would only take her five minutes to run there and back, assuming Professor Oak didn't want to stop for one of his infamous "chats" that normally went on for about three hours, complete with tea and cake.

Giving in, Sienna heaved herself to her feet. "All right, all right, I'll go."

"Good!" Suzanne said before escaping back to the kitchen. "Don't take too long, now!" she called out. "I need your help with dinner later."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Sienna sighed.

She studied the pile of books disdainfully, before picking them up experimentally. The sheer weight of the books made her knees buckle and she groaned, feeling the pressure shoot through her arms. She swore and set the books back down again.

"_I could just make two trips…" _she thought to herself, but as she cast a glance back at the television she realised her programme had resumed. She was going to miss all of it if she didn't hurry back! And the thought of missing the Perfect Poffins segment, complete with hints and tips on making better Poffins made her anxious. She had to get moving otherwise she would miss it! But there was no way she could manage all this by herself.

Just then, she caught sight of Meloi toddling through the hallway and a flash of inspiration caught Sienna. Grinning, she called her Ampharos over.

She didn't even give her Pokemon a chance to respond before she stuffed two of the topmost books into her Pokemon's awaiting arms. "Here, take these."

The Pokemon looked at the copies of "_Brock's Guide to Breeding" _and "_Eggscellent Egg Care" _suspiciously, but seemed more than capable of supporting their combined weight. Grinning, Sienna gathered up the rest of the books, finding she was able to carry them without difficulty now. She motioned to Meloi with a quick jerk of her head.

"Come on Meloi. Let's go to Professor Oak. My lazy-arse of a mother can't be bothered taking these books to him herself."

"I heard that!" Suzanne bellowed from next door, making Sienna wince at her mother's screeching tones. "Hurry up!"

"Hurrying," Sienna deadpanned, shifting the weight of her books in her arms, before forcibly kicking her front door open.

She stalked out, Meloi trotting along obediently as they made the short walk to Professor Oak's lab. Reaching the wooden door of the lab, Sienna made a plea to Arceus above that she wouldn't have to hang around Oak's lab too long. Perfect Poffins was calling her.

She soon hit a problem. "Damn…" Sienna said out loud as she realised there was no physical way she could open the door. Her arms were so full of books she could barely move them, and she didn't want to put them down in case she couldn't pick them back up again. Instead, she compensated by delivering three swift kicks to the bottom of the door, hoping it would gain enough attention.

From inside, Sienna heard an ominous crashing noise. Sighing and rolling her eyes, she waited for the inevitable bang and string of curses. And yes, only a few seconds later she heard it. All of a sudden the door swung open and Sienna came face to face with Professor Oak's haphazard assistant, Tracey Sketchit.

"Hey Tracey." Sienna managed a grin over the pile of books she was holding. "I've come to return these books my Mum borrowed,"

"Oh, sure." Tracey said breezily, standing aside to allow Sienna and Meloi to edge in. "The Professor's in the back!"

"Thank you," Sienna called back over her shoulder. "Come on, Meloi."

Sienna knew the way well enough to slip inside and find her own way into Professor Oak's research lab where he wrote papers and conducted experiments. She hurried, her feet squeaking against the polished floor and Meloi's little feet tapping as they half jogged up to the back room.

They found the Professor sitting at his research desk, pouring over a number of papers. He looked deep in thought as Sienna tentatively entered, not sure if she should have knocked first.

"Professor Oak?"

At the sound of Sienna's voice in the quiet room, Professor Oak looked up over his research papers. His old, wise eyes held a characteristic twinkle in them as he caught sight of the girl standing in his doorway. "Ah, Sienna!" he smiled.

"Hi Professor,"

"Amph!" Meloi called out, determined not to be left out.

Oak smiled again, and his eyes then touched on the books in her arms. He chuckled. "Your mum got you returning books for her?"

"Yeah." Sienna said, privately wishing she could put the books _down. _Her arms were beginning to get painful pins and needles and her muscles cried out for relief. She had no idea a bunch of _books _could be so heavy.

"Sit them down here," he motioned to his desk.

As Sienna obediently sat the books down, she caught sight of a series of complicated looking drawings, diagrams and figures adorning the research papers Oak was looking through. Her curiosity was peaked. Despite her better judgement, and the prospect of her television show back home, she couldn't help but inquire to them."What are those, Professor?"

"These? Why, this is some research on Unova Pokemon my grandson sent me."

"Your grandson?" Sienna had to think before she was able to put a name to him. "Oh! Gary! But… doesn't he run Viridian Gym now?" she asked, remembering something Elliot had once told her. Elliot had, of course, challenged the Viridian City Gym Leader for his final Kanto Badge to gain acceptance to the Indigo League. Elliot had also told her that the Viridian City Gym Leader was in a whole other league to most gym leaders. Elliot had said he had never faced a gym leader so tough before.

"He does. He's been running that Gym for a good few years now." Professor Oak replied, with a proud smile. "But he helps out a lot at the Lab and goes travelling when he can. He likes to relive his glory days." He said with a chuckle. A nostalgic look then appeared on his face. "I can't believe it's been so long since that kid went out on his Pokemon journey. Almost ten years..."

Sienna nodded politely, but, after getting her questions answered, she was already eager to leave. She quickly gave the order to Meloi to put the books she was holding on the table. Her Ampharos obeyed her, of course, plonking the two breeding books next to the others. However, as soon as they both turned to leave, Professor Oak suddenly called her back.

"You know, I really can't get over the change in Meloi."

Sienna turned around, more out of politeness than curiosity. "Really?"

Oak smiled. "You saw for yourself Sienna. Don't you remember what she was like when I first passed her on to you?"

"How could I forget?" Sienna said dryly, glaring down at Meloi who shot her an indignant look. "She was a menace back then. What, you were!" she insisted as Meloi let out an angered and defensive shout.

"You still tamed her though." Professor Oak pointed out kindly. "That was amazing, Sienna. I thought that poor Pokemon didn't have any hope left in her. But you saved her…"

A thought suddenly struck Sienna. Meloi had been a rough, disobedient Pokemon when Sienna first took her in. But while it was true that some of that was simply down to her nature, there had been another very important factor in her behaviour. "Professor? I've always wondered…" she began nervously.

"Yes…?" The Professor inquired slowly.

"What… what happened to Meloi? Before… before… I took her in?"

No sooner had those words slipped out of Sienna's lips, Meloi began growling. And these weren't warning, stay-away-from-me growls. These were deep, throaty, angry growls of extreme discontent. Sienna was taken aback by the behaviour of her Pokemon and she gasped, her eyes bulging. "Meloi? What's the matter?"

Meloi's growls started to intensify and sparks were beginning to shoot out from Meloi's body. Her fur was bristling and she looked like Sienna's other Pokemon Monty when he was angry.

"Meloi? It's okay! Calm down!"

But Meloi simply wouldn't calm down. She was riled! Sparks and bolts of electricity were flying all over the place. It was eerily reminiscent of Sienna's first meeting with Meloi. She was just an angry ball of crackling electricity! She wouldn't listen to anything Sienna _or _Professor Oak said. She wouldn't even be bribed with berries or Poffins. Sienna was eventually left with no choice but to recall her angered Pokemon.

As soon as a struggling Meloi was safely tucked away in her Pokeball, Sienna turned to Oak, open mouthed and in shock. Professor Oak looked solemn as he addressed her.

"Don't take it to heart," he assured her softly. "I'm not surprised she doesn't want to hear about her old trainer again. He treated her very, very badly."

Sienna wrung her hands awkwardly together. A burning question was poised on her tongue. Anticipation was bubbling through her, making her feel jumpy and nervous. She had wanted to know the answer to this question for the past fourteen months she had been with Meloi, ever since the 17th April 2009. "Can you tell me anything about him? Meloi's old trainer, I mean…"

Professor Oak frowned deeply. "I don't know the _whole _story… but I can tell you what I know. But Sienna… it's not pretty… Are you sure you still want to hear it?"

Sienna nodded fiercely. A strange lump was forming in her throat and she didn't know exactly why. She gripped onto Meloi's Pokeball tightly, trying to swallow back what felt like the threat of tears.

"Meloi once belonged to a trainer that originally started from Pallet Town, many years ago." Professor Oak explained. "He set off… maybe five years ago? Three or four years before yourself? He showed great promise, that boy. A little impulsive and hot-headed perhaps, but it was only to be expected from boys his age. He had a sharp mind and a burning determination. We thought he would be a talented trainer. But he was young, arrogant and impatient. He couldn't understand why his Pokemon wouldn't get strong straight away. His Pokemon became distrustful and that in turn made them disobedient. Convinced that it was something to do with Pokemon from Kanto, he made his way to Johto hoping to find better Pokemon. It was there that he found Meloi."

Sienna nodded, captivated, but oddly terrified about what Professor Oak would say next.

"Meloi has always been a little… what was it I called her? Ah, yes. "Spirited". She was a rowdy little thing, but she was willing to please her trainer. At first, anyway. After some time, the trainer returned to Kanto. From what I can gather from the Nurse Joy that treated Meloi, the trainer, after Meloi refused to listen to him…" Professor Oak broke off, suddenly choked up. "He beat her."

A shock reverberated through Sienna. "B…beat her?"

Professor Oak nodded solemnly. "With a branch from a tree. Apparently he just… he just snapped. He had had enough of his Pokemon being disobedient and not listening so he turned on the first Pokemon he saw."

"Meloi…"

"Exactly. Now this boy… as his Pokemon became more and more distrustful, he too turned nastier and nastier. He never gave praise, only put his Pokemon down... he would often resort to shouting and screaming at them, even threatening violence. As you can probably imagine, as soon as this boy turned on poor Meloi, she fought back. Shot him with a Thundershock as hard as she could. This… this only made things worse…"

"What happened?"

"The boy never told the Nurse what happened. All we know is the boy turned over Meloi to the Nurse in Viridian City and told her to "get rid of it" because it "wasn't any use to him any more". Then he just left, took off into the rain and left Meloi behind. She wasn't in a good state…"

Sienna's voice was hoarse and croaky. She was finding it increasingly hard to fight back tears. "How… how bad was she?"

The Professor let out a long, slow sigh. "It took a team of nurses working continuously through the night to revive Meloi. When she was brought in, she was barely clinging to life. Many of her bones had been fractured or broken; she was covered in cuts and bruises… Nurse Joy said it was the worst state she'd ever seen a Pokemon in before."

Sienna felt sick. Physically, horribly, terribly repulsed. The thought of anyone beating their Pokemon made her feel sick. The idea of someone abusing their Pokemon till it was within an inch of its life made paralysing fear shudder through her body. But the most horrifying thing of all was that it had been done to _her _Pokemon. _Her _Meloi. Her beloved starter, her best friend… the idea of her Pokemon almost dying because of the actions of one arrogant, cynical, hateful trainer… it made her feel sick.

It took her a few moments before she was able to speak.

"What was the trainer's name?" Sienna's voice sounded dangerously low.

Professor Oak sighed. "Sienna… that boy… he was picked up not long after he dumped Meloi… and he had his trainer licence taken away. Everyone expected him to go back home to Pallet Town. But after he served his punishment, and after he had his licence taken away, he just disappeared."

The word sounded alien as it escaped Sienna's lips. "Disappeared?"

"Yes. He went rogue. You see, trainers that don't own a trainer's licence are deemed as "illegal" trainers, of a sort. They aren't bound by the rules and regulations other trainers are, and as such, they aren't limited to carrying only six Pokemon at a time. However, as a price, they cannot participate in Gym Battles, Leagues, Elite Four challenges, Contests or trades. I'm sure you know that a trainer's licence is the first form of formal identification many people own and you're, by law, requested to show it whenever someone asks for it."

"So these illegal trainers…?"

"Not completely illegal as such," Professor Oak explained patiently. "There is no law as such, yet, requiring that someone must own a licence to own Pokemon. I mean, that would penalise most young trainers and families from keeping Pokemon as house pets."

"This is confusing…" Sienna said in exasperation.

"I know. But the rules concerning pokemon are complicated by nature. Basically, there are no laws against keeping Pokemon without Pokeballs or a trainer's licence. But to participate in battles, trades or formal competitions you _must _own one."

Sienna found herself extremely grateful as she thought of her own Trainer's Licence tucked up in her purse. She had never been given a trainer's licence from Professor Oak due to the fact she had left so quickly, but had picked one up whilst she had been training in Viridian City. She had never realised how important owning one had been.

A thought struck her. Did you really have to own a license for battling? "But what about battles between trainers that don't own licenses? Like kids. And rookies?"

"Technically illegal," Professor Oak explained. "But the majority of these go unnoticed as they are mostly harmless. However… we have heard a number of scary rumours of bands of trainers who operate without trainer's licences, openly breaking the law."

"Like Team Rocket? And the people my father were involved with?"

Professor Oak shook his head. "No. Those trainers all own licences. What I'm talking about are small groups of maybe ten or so trainers that all go rogue for some reason or another… they join up and cause havoc on towns and cities. They even try to recruit other trainers to their cause."

"But what does this have to do with Meloi's old trainer?"

"Meloi's old trainer, so far as what we can gather, is part of one of these rogue groups," Professor Oak replied. "We don't, unfortunately, have any idea where he is."

"Who is he? What's his name?"

Professor Oak thought for a few moments, before suddenly delving into a drawer of one of the desks. A few seconds later, he turned around and pressed something into Sienna's hands.

Sienna found herself looking at a slightly tattered photo of a young boy. He looked around fifteen, with a mess of shaggy blonde hair, a slim physique, strong, well-defined cheekbones and a strong, square jaw. Sienna supposed he could have been quite handsome, were it now for what looked like a permanent scowl locked onto his face and a cold, hard look in his steely grey eyes.

"Will Brennan." Professor Oak said solemnly. "This is the trainer that once owned Meloi."

Sienna couldn't describe the emotions coursing through her. Anger and rage on a similar scale to what she had felt back when she had seen Legendary Pokemon falling to the hands of her father were now bubbling up through her veins. Her hand clenched around the photo, wishing she could crumple it up. She looked like she dearly wanted to crush Will as well…

"I'm going to find him." Sienna said with a cold edge to her voice.

"Sienna…" Professor Oak said worriedly. "That's not a good idea. That man is dangerous… who knows what he's doing now? Or where he is…"

"I'm still going to find him," Sienna said with determined resolve. "I've dealt with a _lot _worse than what one rogue trainer can do to me. I'm going to make him pay for what he did to Meloi."

Professor Oak let out a long sigh. "Sienna…"

Sienna ignored Professor Oak, and he knew better than to try and argue with the girl. She was a horribly determined person, with a quiet, steely resolve. If she set her heart on something, no matter how hard it was going to be, she would stop at nothing until she had achieved it. That determination alone was what had secured Sienna's victory back at Mt Chimney all those months ago. Had it not been for that willpower and drive, Professor Oak seriously doubted Sienna would have achieved what she did. Many others would have simply given up the first time things went wrong for them. But not Sienna. There was just something about that girl… she'd never give up, no matter how much the odds were stacked against her.

And that was why Professor Oak knew that if Sienna vowed to find Will Brennan, she would find some way to find him. No matter where he was, she would find him and "make him pay" like she had promised.

* * *

><p>Sienna had only taken a few steps in the direction of home when she found herself releasing Meloi. The Ampharos still looked angry, tiny bolts of electricity sparkling and fizzing all around her.<p>

"Meloi," Sienna said softly, kneeling down to her Pokemon's level. Her Pokemon still refused to back down, "I know about Will. And I know about what he did to you."

At the mere mention of his name, Sienna wholly expected Meloi to go nuts. But instead, her ears drooped and she began to whine softly, her eyes welling up. Her saddened expression tugged at Sienna's heartstrings. The thought of what horrible suffering her beloved Pokemon had had to go through made her want to burst into tears.

"Oh Mel," Sienna whispered, throwing her arms around her Pokemon. "I know I said this when we first met… but I'm so sorry about the way _he _treated you. I promise you, I'm going to find that boy. And I'm gonna make him pay for what he did…"

"Amph… Amph…" Meloi still sounded sad, so Sienna hugged her Pokemon even closer.

"I promise. Really, I do." She vowed. "I won't let him get away with what he did to you."

"Amph…Ampharos!" Meloi sounded a little more upbeat now.

Smiling, Sienna got up. "Come on, Meloi. Let's go home."

As the two figures disappeared down the path towards the Volbeda family home, Sienna's mind wandered to the boy named Will Brennan. The rogue trainer that owned Meloi. The rogue trainer that beat her, abused her, almost killed her.

"_I will find that boy._" Sienna thought, as Meloi's tiny paw wrapped around her hand. "_I'm going to find him. No matter where he is, what he's doing, or how strong he is. Just you wait, Will Brennan. I'm going to find you, and you're going to pay for what you did to my Pokemon!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**As you can probably imagine, the introduction of Will Brennan will play a part in a later chapter of Free Spirits. **

**I'm not sure if the second part of this will be publised immediately... Monty's backstory, I mean. I may publish some other things first. Not sure. **

**Hey, I have a question? I was asked by a reader I have on DeviantART if a Spirited DeviantART group would be a venture I would be willing to create... I want to know, if such a thing would exist, would anyone be willing to join it/contribute to it etc? You can reply on here or on the new poll I'm going to create. **

**Thanks again to my lovely readers: Sniper Mudkip, Something Dictionary Related, ArchXDeath, eeveelutionluvr, May and Dawn are the best and Padfoot Arcanine.**


	6. The Sound of Music

**The Sound of Music**

_Nikki was always the oddball of the group. Shy and sweet, who never talked much about herself. When Sienna and Jasmine decide to pay Nikki a visit in her hometown of Fuchsia City, they discover a beautiful hidden talent that their shy friend has been harbouring._

_This one-shot takes place about a year after the conclusion of Spirited. At the time of this fic, Scott is currently at the tail end of fighting his way through the Kanto league circuit and only weeks away from returning home, mysteriously denying himself a chance at taking on the Elite Four._

_Nikki and Christian are an established couple._

* * *

><p>Jasmine and I took a few short moments to survey the house we were currently standing in front of. The warm evening sun bathed us in a comforting light as I took in every detail of what was around us. The house was a modest, two-storey, semi-detached affair, obviously well-maintained and joined onto an immaculately kept garden, covered in beautifully grown flowers with not a weed in sight, set in a particularly welcoming residential area of Fuchsia City. The lines of near-identical houses ran for what looked like miles in all directions, but a little further down the street on the opposite side of the road, there was another little building. This one looked like a bungalow with a butter yellow door, an old fashioned thatched roof, ivy weaving across the stone walls and with huge gardens at the front and back of the house. I squinted a little, making out a tiny sign sitting next to the letter box. According to the sign this was a Pokemon Daycare. I could also see a little old man with greying hair at the front door, throwing some bread to a flock of tiny wild Pidgey nesting in a huge tree.<p>

I found myself inexplicably liking this little slice of suburbia I was currently in, and I was quite content to continue drinking in these surroundings, but as always, I was interrupted. I jumped violently as Jasmine's foghorn voice punctuated my consciousness and her sharp elbow came into sudden contact with my rib cage, winding me momentarily. "Hey!" she said loudly. "You sure this is the right place?"

Still winded, I flapped the piece of paper I had used to write Nikki's address at her impatiently. "Number nine!" I wheezed, trying to catch some breath. "This is house number nine, right?"

Jasmine looked at the brass number "9" hanging at the gate in front of the house we were standing in front of. She folded her arms and stared at it a few moments, before half-heartedly kicking the stone wall surrounding the house and garden. "Unless the people in number 6 are having a laugh at our expense," she stated.

"Oh shush." I told her, putting the piece of paper with Nikki's directions back into the pocket of my jeans. "Nikki said number nine, this is number nine. So, this must be her house, right?"

"Must be…" Jasmine nodded.

While we had both agreed this had to be Nikki's house, the two of us simply stood there for a few moments in complete silence. After a few long minutes of simply staring at the house, I turned to look at Jasmine expectantly. However, she simply glared back at me in the same expectant manner.

"Well, on you go, then." I offered, waving my hand in the direction of the door. "Go knock!"

"I'm not knocking! You knock!" Jasmine said at once.

"What?! Why me?!" I cried.

"Cos… cos I don't wanna!" Jasmine insisted childishly.

"Why?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips in a likely unsuccessful attempt at looking more formidable. "You scared or something?!"

"N…no!" Jasmine said indignantly, before crossing her arms firmly in the very epitome of defiance. "I just don't feel like it." She said with grandeur.

I let out a tortured groan and let my arms drop to my side. "I can't believe you. Brute strength of a Machoke and both brave and stupid enough to take on anyone foolish to pick on you, but you're too scared to go and knock on a door?"

I had expected Jasmine to take offence at the 'stupid' jibe, but mercifully she didn't. She merely stuck her nose in the air and demanded "Yeah, what of it?"

I shook my head fiercely, but I knew I was just wasting my time and breath trying to convince her to do what I wanted. I'd be quicker doing it myself, I reasoned, as much as I didn't want to. So I shot Jasmine a fierce glare, grabbed my bag that I had dumped at my feet, swung the gate open and marched as confidently as I could up the front path to the thick wooden door.

I rang the bell and waited tentatively, Jasmine inching nervously up the cobblestone path to stand behind me. I found myself privately thinking she was being ridiculous. Nikki was shy, that was common knowledge to anyone who knew her, but Jasmine was a totally different kettle of Magikarp. She was the polar opposite to Nikki; loud, brash, unsubtle, had a stubborn streak and had a slight violent temper. Seeing her reduced to hiding behind me was quite comical, I had to admit.

We stood there for a few moments after the bell rang. As the seconds ticked on, I turned to look at Jasmine who returned a rather perplexed gaze. Gingerly, and with a much bigger dose of nerves this time, I rang the bell again.

We were met with nothing once again.

"You think anyone's home?" Jasmine piped up behind me.

"I would think so." I nodded. "Nikki's expecting us. She wouldn't go out anywhere, not when she knows we're coming."

"Well she's certainly not coming to the door…" Jasmine said moodily, looking like she'd like to take out her frustration out on the door we were standing in front of.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious…" I groaned.

"You're welcome, Sergeant Sarcasm." She quipped back, poking me in the side and making me squeal. "Ring the bell again." She ordered.

My finger hovered over the button, before I thought better of it. "I think it's broken." I suggested, before rapping my knuckles lightly on the door.

Nothing happened still. Jasmine let out a haughty sigh and gestured madly towards the door handle. "Try the door."

"Eh?" I looked back at her, astonished.

"Try the door!" Jasmine insisted again.

"I'm not gonna open the door, that's breaking and entering!" I said shrilly.

"Not if we're expected, it's not!" Jasmine argued back.

"Oh for goodness sake, Jazz!" I sighed. Privately I knew what she was suggesting was ridiculous and risky beyond belief, but all the same, my hand reached out of its own accord and grasped the doorknob. Out of curiosity I tried to turn it and the door clicked open. I squeaked and dropped the doorknob guiltily like I'd been scalded. The door swung open harmlessly, revealing a glimpse into a hallway. I froze, half-expecting to hear angry shouting, cries of fright and panic, to have the door slammed in my face or a violent combination of all three.

Nothing happened. The door remained open and the silence and emptiness of the hallway were reflected back at us. A moment passed. Jasmine blinked, before edging out behind me to peer in through the gap in the door. "Should… should we go in?"

I looked at her in shock. "Jazz, are you mad?" I cried, grabbing her arm in a vague attempt to hold her back.

"Well, we've come this far!" she said, brushing me off, sweeping past and then pushing her way into the house. "Might as well keep going!" she called back.

"Jazz!" I cried through fiercely gritted teeth. "Get back here!"

But it was too late. Jasmine had already disappeared into the house.

"Unbelievable!" I sighed. "_Won't knock on a door but she'll happily waltz into a stranger's house! What on earth am I gonna do with her?_"

I reluctantly followed Jasmine inside, praying to every God in existence that we wouldn't be caught and shut the door gently behind me. I didn't even bother taking in any details of the hallway we were standing in, I simply glanced around frantically in search of Jasmine. "Jazz! Jazz!" I hissed into the empty room.

"Sienna!" I suddenly saw Jasmine's head pop around the doorway of a room across the long hallway. "Come here, quick!"

She was making no effort to keep her voice down and I cringed, cursing inwardly. She sounded urgent so I quickly and simply did as I was told and jogged up the polished hallway, conscious of how loud the heels of my boots sounded on the floorboards.

"Look!" Jasmine whispered as I joined her at the doorway, pointing at something.

Before I could even look at what it was had seemed to capture Jasmine's attention so powerfully, I became aware of soft music. At first I thought someone was playing piano music on a speaker or stereos, but as I finally dared to look into the living room, I understood. The piano music wasn't coming from a CD or an iPod like I had thought. It was coming from a real piano, nestled comfortably in the corner of the living room. My jaw hit the floor as I saw someone was sitting up and playing the instrument, lovingly teasing out the slow, gentle notes. The player had their back turned to me, but there was no mistaking the slim physique, the curtain of black hair framing their figure, and the ghostly pale skin exposed and on show under folds of a blue dress.

Nikki.

I watched in shock as Nikki's slim fingers danced across the piano keys, a soft, harmonious and utterly sublime sound echoing out. Her fingers seemed to glide, barely even touching the keys, a fleeting, slow and beautiful melody being expelled from the instrument. I turned to look at Jasmine who looked just as stunned as I was feeling.

And then, just when I thought this whole thing couldn't get any more unbelievable, the music rose to a soft but still stunning crescendo and all of a sudden, she was singing. I gasped.

"_Something delicate, special like the love we know. My fragile heart beats, sometimes secure, sometimes alone..._"

"Oh my God…" I whispered. Her voice was simply beautiful. She sang with a comforting softness and ease, the syllables barely stressed, her voice quiet and sweet, yet still dancing with melody and harmony.

_My first treasure took me years to find…It's what I cling to when confusion clouds my mind…Then you come to me and you smile. Suddenly I feel as if everything's okay. Lost in your smile, all at once I'm swept away. When troubles fall upon me like rain, when the world becomes one big cold and lonely place, you carry me through. From dreary skies the sun breaks through…_"

She stopped singing for that one moment, returning to a soft instrumental break. Her fingers darted lithely and lightly across the keys, barely pressing one before moving onto another, the notes spilling out and washing over me like a wave breaking upon the shore.

"_When you're_—"

BANG!

The almighty noise sounded right beside me and I screeched in fright, snapping straight out of the music induced daydream I had been caught in. The music came to an abrupt halt, several harsh notes sounding out like someone had slammed their palm on any random keys they felt like. I heard Jasmine swear and all of a sudden there was another bang as Nikki leapt to her feet, knocking her piano stool over in fright and whipping around to look at us.

At that moment, I felt horrifically uncomfortable and I wished I could just melt into the shadows, or better yet completely rewind the clock back to five minutes ago when we were all harmlessly standing outside the front door. I cringed. We had basically just invaded her house, crept around without her knowing and had snuck up on her in a moment she thought she was alone. Some friends we were…

Nikki was looking totally astonished, almost like she wasn't quite believing what was right in front of her eyes. "Sienna?!" she exclaimed. "Jasmine?! What… what are you doing here?!"

"Wh… what are we doing here?!" I could tell from Jasmine's voice that she was feeling just as guilty as I was for what we were doing, but she was attempting to cover it up. "You invited us! So we're here,' she cried, a little too loudly.

I wanted to sink my head into my hands and I shot Jasmine a reproachful look before turning back to Nikki, feeling someone at least owed her an explanation. "The, uh… the door was open…"

Nikki looked a little perplexed, before suddenly running up and throwing herself at me in a hug. I staggered back, a little surprised, but I clumsily returned the hug all the same. "Ring the doorbell next time!" she said, but her eyes were sparkling, she was grinning and her tone was light.

"We did. Repeatedly…" Jasmine said, grumbling as she knelt down to pick up a heavy book she had somehow knocked off the cabinet next to the door, which had explained the loud bang from earlier.

Nikki was beginning to look a little sheepish. "Oh…" she said, a blush developing across her pale cheeks. "I… I must not have heard it… over the piano…" the last bit of her sentence escaped her in a barely audible whisper. She all of a sudden looked fiercely embarrassed.

"It's alright," I said. "Yeah, so… we, uh, heard you play. You're really good!" I said as sincerely as I could, really hoping she wouldn't think I was being patronising or mocking her.

She looked horrified at this point. "Oh no! You… you _heard _me?!"

"Course we did. You're good," Jasmine laughed like it was no big deal. "How come you never told us you could play the piano?"

"Or sing!" I added.

"Um…" Nikki looked flustered at our questioning and her face was slowly reddening. "You… you never asked…"

I opened my mouth to ask something else, desperate to find all about this new side of Nikki I never even knew _existed _up till now, but she suddenly intercepted, flapping her hands up and down like she was a Pidgey trying to take off into flight. "Oh, guys! Come on, enough of this just now! You must be tired from travelling all the way here. You should go and put your things in my room and then I'll get some dinner started cos it's getting late…"

"_You're _gonna do dinner?" Jasmine asked, looking surprised and worried at the same time.

"Well, yeah, I kinda have to." She nodded, motioning for us to follow her out the living room and back into the hallway. "Dad's away in Sinnoh for work and mum's had to do a night shift at the hospital. She's a nurse, you see." She added as she began leading us up a set of carpeted stairs.

"And where's Scott?" Jasmine asked out of interest.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Nikki said with a forced laugh. "_Somewhere _in Kanto. He's gone off trying to take on all the Gyms… we haven't heard from him since he left and that was months ago…"

I could hear the worry in her voice as she said this. Nikki always had been extraordinarily protective over her young brother, and I knew the idea that he was out on his own in Kanto challenging gyms without so much as even a phone call to keep in touch was likely driving her mad with worry. "I'm sure he'll be alright," I told Nikki as we emerged onto yet another hallway. "He's not exactly stupid…"

"He's thirteen years old, it's kinda in a thirteen year old's nature to be stupid." Jasmine piped up behind me.

"Jasmine, shut up!" I hissed through gritted teeth. "_Honestly_!" I thought in exasperation. "_Is the concept of subtlety _completely _lost on her?"_

Nikki was grinning all the same, albeit a little wryly. "It's alright," she said off handedly with a mild shrug. "Scott is Scott. He'll go wherever he wants to. He's always been like that…"

I wanted to say something more, but it was at this point that Nikki opened one of the doors in the upstairs hallway. She pushed it open and motioned for us to follow. As I stepped into the room, I instantly had to reel back at the sight of it. For one moment, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as reflected throughout the entire of the bedroom was nothing but pink. So much pink my eyes hurt from simply taking it in. Every surface, every piece of furniture, every decoration, every _square inch _in that room that wasn't wooden was pink. The bed covers were pink, the curtains were pink, the wallpaper was pink, the lampshades were pink… everything was just _pink_. Even the vibrant red Flareon plushie sitting on Nikki's bed was beginning to look suspiciously pink. Varying shades from fluorescent pink, neon pink, dusty rose pink and baby pink stared back at me, so much of it all that it was actually making my head hurt.

I could do nothing but look at Nikki in the hope of getting some sort of explanation and I was surprised to see she was blushing and grinning quite nervously. "I, uh, went through a bit of a pink phase when I was younger."

"A bit?!" Jasmine cried incredulously.

"Yeah, just a little bit…" Nikki said with a sheepish grin, fingering a pink blanket draped over the wooden dressing table in the corner of the room. "And with my dad away, my mum working and me not even being _home_ for quite a few months, we never did get around to redecorating."

"I can see _that._" Jasmine said, still looking awed. "I could _never _live in this much pink."

"What are you talking about; you like pink." I eyed Jasmine pointedly. For all Jasmine was complaining about the colour of Nikki's room, she wasn't exactly adverse to a bit of pink herself, easily fitting in and adopting the 'girly girl' role of the group, if not in her behaviour (which was certainly _not _ladylike), then definitely by her clothes and the way she did her hair and makeup and carefully presented herself so she looked good all the time. She was always immaculate, dressed in stylish and trendy clothes that were always on the cutting edge of fashion. Her outfits looked like they belonged on the skinny figure of supermodels or hanging on the mannequins in fancy boutiques. It actually made me wonder where on earth she got the money to dress like that...

"I do like pink," Jasmine was insisting vehemently. "But not baby pink… I like more vibrant colours. No offence, Nikki."

"None taken!" Nikki grinned, before looking official again. "Well, my room's quite small, as you can see." She said, glancing around her modest room again. "And my bed's not very big either…" she said, eyeing her tiny single pink patchwork bed with a little embarrassment. "But what I'll do is I'll make up a bed on the floor for you guys if you'd help me bring the spare mattress through."

"Sure," I nodded.

"Oh no, heavy lifting?" Jasmine looked at Nikki reproachfully. "Really?"

I blinked in surprise at Jasmine's protest. "Jasmine, you've got brute strength like a Machoke! You could pick up that mattress yourself and carry it in here like it was a toothpick."

Jasmine grimaced. "That's the problem… I don't know my own strength. If I hug someone too tight I almost choke them…"

"I hear that," I said, grinning at Nikki who returned it, knowing all too well what I was getting at. Jasmine didn't hug often for that exact reason; she was a little too worried of hurting anyone with her bear hugs. She had caught both me and Nikki out with this a few times, even when she had tried to be gentle. Jasmine wasn't looking too impressed at my remark and stuck her pointed tongue out at me in retaliation. "So mature," I remarked back, before laughing. "Nah, I kinda envy you, Jazz. I'd like to have _some_ strength. I'm a bit of a weakling," I said, trying to flex my skinny arms, making Nikki giggle madly.

Jasmine merely shook her head. "It's not ladylike to be so strong though…" she muttered under her breath, softly enough that I almost didn't hear her.

"Eh?" I questioned her, puzzled. "Ladylike? Since when did you care about ladylike?"

"Huh?" For a split second, she looked guilty and she hastily shook her head. "Uh, n…never mind," she said quickly.

Jasmine dismissed any further questions I had about this odd statement she had made and instead suggested we bring the spare mattress into Nikki's room to avoid doing it later when we were tired. It was an awkward job trying to negotiate the heavy, unwieldy thing from the room across the hall from Nikki's. It wasn't exactly helped by the fact Nikki and I had the combined strength of a Magikarp between us and collapsed into giggles every time we attempted to get a grip of it and carry it. Eventually, Jasmine, who had declined to help in favour of simply holding the doors open for us lost her temper, stormed straight past, practically _shouldered _the mattress and heaved it into the empty space on the floor whilst Nikki and I had tears rolling down our faces with laughter.

After a few failed attempts at threading sheets onto the mattress, stuffing an unwieldy duvet into a slippery cover and spending more time belting each other with the pillows instead of actually putting pillowcases on them, we admitted defeat and headed down into the kitchen, leaving the bed still a mess and entertaining a vague promise to fix it later. Nikki decided to cook dinner for us and seemed quite eager to impress us, but upon the realisation she had forgotten the vital ingredient, the chunks of Miltank steak for the curry she wanted to make, we had to make alternative plans. That is, of course, _after _we laughed for a solid ten minutes at the ridiculousness of it all. Thankfully there was a local restaurant just down the street from Nikki so we decided to go there to eat.

We passed the Pokemon daycare as we walked down the street, tightly packed with houses. The old man we had seen earlier was still there, but this time he was dozing in a chair in his garden. Nikki shook her head fondly as she led us by.

"I work there," she nodded, indicating the little daycare centre. "That's my boss there. He always falls asleep around this time of night."

"You work there, huh?" Jasmine looked interested. "What do you do?"

"Bit of everything, really." Nikki nodded. "The couple that run the business are quite old now, so they can't really keep up with paperwork and they certainly don't know how to use a computer. So I try and deal with all the bookings, what trainers drop off what Pokemon, for how long, take down their contact details and load it into the computer and write down a paper copy for them too. I also have to take care of some of the more… energetic Pokemon that my bosses can't keep up with. So I'm kinda a jack of all trades,"

"That sounds like a lot of work." I said, furrowing my brow.

"Yeah, they're not overworking you, are they?" Jasmine asked, looking fierce.

"Oh, no, no!" Nikki looked horrified at the mere suggestion. "I like working at the daycare! I'm actually _good _at it! And at least I have a job to go back to all the time I'm home. It's not like I'm ever going to get to do what I really want to…"

I looked at Jasmine in confusion. "And what's that?" Jasmine asked.

Nikki jumped almost like she'd been scalded. "Oh, uh, never mind, it's nothing."

"Sounds like a pretty big 'nothing' to me," I remarked to myself. Nikki said nothing further on the subject, so I had no option but to ignore it and we all continued walking.

Dinner was an interesting affair, to say the least. Fuchsia City was a big place, but the place Nikki had chosen to eat out at was quite small and select, a comfortable buzz in the air, but not full to the brim with screaming children. The local waiters and waitresses knew Nikki; apparently the Harpers were frequent customers and the bubbly blonde waitress assigned to our table chatted away to Nikki about work, her family and her Pokemon like they'd known each other for years. It was only after the girl took our order and bounced away did Nikki reveal she had known the waitress while they were both at school. She then clarified that in a close knit community like this little suburb of Fuchsia was, everyone knew everyone. And if you _didn't _know someone, you at least knew someone else who did.

After ordering and receiving our food, our small talk soon turned to what the three of us had been doing over the couple of months since we had all last seen each other. I had last seen Jasmine in April, not long after my 16th birthday, but Nikki, because of her commitments to work, I hadn't physically seen since I had left the hospital in Hoenn. We'd kept in touch through phone and video calling of course, but I'd missed her, as I missed Jasmine, even though I had seen her more often. Making the decision to come to Fuchsia to see Nikki was a good one, albeit a daunting one. Thankfully I had Elliot to rely on to transport me from Pallet Town as I wasn't really willing to travel out on the road again, and Jasmine had simply met me here. It had been a long time since the three of us had been together, and we had a lot to catch up on since.

Jasmine was strangely cryptic about her news, hiding behind a plateful of low-fat pasta salad, revealing very little about what had happened to her since we'd all come home from Hoenn, claiming it was 'nothing interesting'. Although rather annoying, I was beginning to get used to Jasmine's reluctance to reveal much about her personal life. I did however find it strange that someone as loud and brash as Jasmine was so secretive. While trying to ignore my slight frustration at Jasmine, I told the girls bits and pieces about my own life, how I was attending pastry school in Viridian and had almost finished my first year there. But it wasn't my life or Jasmine's life I was interested in. It was Nikki's, particularly the developments in her romantic life.

I wasn't shy about asking her about this, and she blushed and squealed no sooner had I even said the word 'Christian'. She became such a giggling, blushing, squealing wreck at the mere mention of his name that it made me giggle too, and it took about a good ten minutes to get an answer out of her.

"Christian's very nice…" Nikki blushed violently, refusing to meet anyone's eye and staring right down at the floor instead.

"I think he must be more than 'very nice'." I teased her, elbowing her gently. "How long has it been now?"

"He asked me out in February, so and it's August now… almost six months..."

"Six months," I grinned back. "That's sweet. It'll be a year for me and Elliot next month." I chuckled. "Where's the time gone, huh?"

"I know…" Jasmine nodded, taking a slow sip of her sparkling water which was garnished with a slice of lemon she had insisted on having. "It just goes by so fast…"

I nodded. "It almost feels like yesterday that I first picked up a Pokeball… It doesn't feel right that what…? Sixteen months have passed since that day…"

"That's scary!" Nikki said, her eyes wide.

"I know." I laughed. "It almost feels kinda strange being back to normal after all that… madness. Legendary Pokemon, mad villains wanting world domination… honest to God, I could write a book about it all..."

"Do it, you'll make a fortune," Jasmine laughed.

"I'm just glad no-one ever found out about that…" Nikki murmured. "I mean… we saw Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza… Arceus!" she added in a hushed whisper. "How come no-one ever… found out?"

"Wallace, Lance and the Gym Leaders dealt with that." I nodded. "And the trainers they used in that raid were sworn to secrecy. But I'll admit, I don't really like to think about it," I added.

"Me neither…" Jasmine said, poking half-heartedly at the bits still left on her plate. "Just do what I do and forget about it. Pretend it didn't happen…"

"Pfft, that never helps…" I said, pushing a half-eaten meatball across my plate, before sighing.

A strange solemn mood descended on us for a short time as we finished dinner and paid. But as we dragged our heavy bodies to Nikki's house, bellies satisfyingly full, we all started to giggle again over little things. As we finally got back to Nikki's after dawdling a while, we realised it was getting late. So we all dressed for bed, squashed up together on Nikki's tiny bed and watched a film on the old TV in Nikki's room, giggling and gossiping like a couple of schoolgirls. It was like being back in the Pokemon Centre, back out on the road again, being with the people I cared most about. And I was loving it.

We went to bed not long after the film ended, Nikki in her bed, and Jasmine and I squashed up together on the tiny, unmade and uncomfortably warm mattress. Jasmine was a rather restless sleeper, murmuring and muttering, tossing and turning and elbowing me with her skinny elbows constantly. It didn't stop me falling asleep however, thankfully as I was exhausted from the day's travel and all the hilarity. My own sleep was pretty much undisturbed apart from when I woke up once when I heard the front door slam, sometime in the early hours of the morning. My initial panic was eventually overridden by common sense as I remembered that Nikki had told us her mother was a nurse, working the night shifts. Realising that, I chuckled to myself, rolled over and went back to sleep.

The morning came all too soon, but as I opened my eyes into the hazy blur of pink, I instantly became aware of a number of things that caught my attention and made me forget I was tired. Firstly, I was no longer lying on the mattress, but on the scratchy white carpet, while Jasmine was starfishing across the mattress, snoring softly. Secondly, there was a faint burning smell hanging in the air. And thirdly, the noise of soft, melodic piano music was drifting up into the bedroom.

I didn't even bother getting dressed, I simply got to my feet, cracking my sore neck and back in the process and padded downstairs, shivering slightly. I followed the noise of the piano music until I reached the living room once again. Nikki was sitting at the piano, skimming her fingers gently over the piano keys, but she seemed a little more hesitant as the soft notes rang out. I could hear her singing, but it was soft, whispery, breathy singing and I couldn't make out the words.

I felt like I could stand there and watch her for hours, but I felt bad about eavesdropping, considering I'd already been caught doing it once, so I cleared my throat. "Nikki?"

Nikki visibly jumped, but she turned around, smiling broadly which was always a good sign. "Oh! Good morning, Sienna! You sleep okay?"

"I think so," I nodded. "I woke up completely _off _the mattress, though. Madame Moore up there must have pushed me off."

Nikki giggled, before looking a little guilty. "Em, I did _try _to make breakfast, but… the pancakes ended up getting a little… burnt."

"Ah," I grinned. "That explains the burning smell."

"Sorry…" she grinned, looking apologetic. "I was gonna try again, but… then I remembered we have a pastry chef in the house… I don't think anything _I _could do would be comparable to a professional's…"

"I'm not a professional _yet,_" I reminded her with a smile, before crossing over and sitting down next to her on the piano bench. "Playing again?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I try and play every morning. I was, uh… trying to write a song…"

It was only then that I noticed a piece of sheet music balanced rather haphazardly in the music stand near to Nikki. It was covered in writing, some scribbled out, some intact and screeds of music notes that meant nothing to me. I peered closer, trying to decode some of the writing, but Nikki, suddenly embarrassed, ripped the sheet from the stand and hid it behind her back. "No! Uh, it's not finished yet!" she blushed.

"Can't I hear it?"

"No!" she cried, looking horrified. "I'm… I'm not very good at song writing…" she admitted, looking down to her feet. "I… it's kinda strange. I can hear any piece of music just once and I can play it back almost perfectly. Just from hearing it once. N—not that I'm boasting, of course!" she added hastily. "But… when it comes to putting a song together myself, putting notes and melodies together from nothing, I find it a little more difficult…"

I nodded. "I'm sure you'll get it,"

"I'm trying!" she said cheerfully. "I mean, I've been playing since I was four years old—"

"Four?!"

"Yeah. Four." She grinned, looking a little sheepish, running a hand gently along the piano keys as if caressing an old friend. "My grandmother insisted that I play…" I caught her wrinkle her nose in what looked like a mix of anger and disgust at the word 'grandmother'.

"Grandmother, huh?"

"Yeah. Grandma Nicolle." She sighed. "My father's mum. I was named for her…" she grimaced again. "I don't like her… it's why I don't ever let anyone call me 'Nicolle'."

I nodded. "I always did wonder about that…"

"Yeah. She's horrible… always has been… she's the kind of woman who's never happy, no matter how much you try and please her. She wanted me to play the piano, so I did."

"But you like the piano, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Nikki cried. "It's what I want to do with my life, after all!"

She suddenly stopped; looking like she wanted to claw back the words she had just said and stuff them back in her mouth.

"You wanna play piano for the rest of your life?"

"I… I… do…" she nodded, after a moment's hesitation.

I frowned. "But… I thought you wanted to be a co-ordinator…"

"I want to do that, too…" Nikki sighed. "But I can't be both."

"Who says?"

"Everyone!" Nikki said, looking woeful. "You have to be _exceptionally _talented to be a pianist. Like… one person out of, like, a _thousand _will ever be good enough and lucky enough to become a pianist and do nothing else for the rest of their lives. The rest of us have to just keep it as a hobby…"

"But if it's what you really _want _to do—"

"But it isn't _all _I want to do…" Nikki said with a sigh, before a blush crept over her face. "Can I let you in on a secret?"

"Course."

"What I want to do, I mean _really _want to do… is both of these things. I want to combine contest battling with music."

I blinked. "Combine them?"

"Yeah!" Nikki nodded. "I always imagined combining the two… having Pokemon battle and display themselves to music… Test Pokemon and trainers on musicality, their ability to interpret music, create routines and all that…"

"Well… why don't you do it?"

"Don't be silly, Sienna!" Nikki said primly, shaking her head firmly. "There's _never _been anything like that. There's never been a co-ordinator who battles with music…"

I grinned, reached out and put my arms around her. "Well, Nikki Harper, I guess you'll just have to be the first, won't you?"

Nikki was quiet for a few moments. "You… you really think I can do it?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "I do."

A smile was touching on Nikki's face. "Yeah…" she smiled, before suddenly seeming to perk up a little. "I'd love that… music is just so amazing, and to combine that with Pokemon… that's be fantastic."

"You really love music, don't you?"

"Of course!" Nikki grinned. "Music is universal… no matter who you are, where you are or what you are, you can understand music… You can move people to tears with just one melody. You can cheer someone up with just one tune. You can touch people's souls with just one lyric. And I love it. It brings people together… "

"Brings people together, huh?"

"Yeah." Nikki smiled. "It brought you here, didn't it? You heard the music, you came here."

I smiled. "Yeah..."

"But of course, it's not always as literal as that…" Nikki smiled, gently tapping a few keys, the notes striking. "People share music in the same way they share memories and experiences. A song that means nothing to one person can mean so much to another. That's incredible, when you think about it, really. A bunch of random notes and words all meshed together to form some sort of tangible… _meaning _that's as unique and individual as the person listening to it. I think… I think that's beautiful. And music is everywhere too! I see it everywhere. In the wind, the way it whistles… And in the leaves, when they rustle and shake, like laughter… and in the water, when it sparkles and dances… that's music to me. That's _my _music."

"Nikki…" I said slowly, suddenly totally in awe of what she was saying. At that moment, I wanted to say so much, but my voice failed me and I could only stare at her. My mind was filled with her words and I found them strangely emotive and meaningful. I understood her perfectly.

Nikki however was blushing, like she was embarrassed of what she had just said. "But anyway..." She said with a little grin, taking her hands away from the keys. "What about you? You wanna try?"

"Me?!" I said in shock, looking at the line of keys, feeling daunted and quite intimidated. "I don't think so… I've got the musical capability of a… teaspoon or something! I can't even sing in tune. You _really _don't wanna hear me sing," I added, cringing at the sheer thought of my own croaky voice.

Nikki giggled. "It's not about singing well. It doesn't matter if you can't sing well, so long as you enjoy what you're doing. Music isn't just for the musically inclined, Sienna."

"Oh, no, I enjoy singing." I said seriously.

"So, what's the problem?"

"No-one _else _likes me singing," I said with a wry smile.

Nikki chuckled. "Okay, well maybe we'll leave the singing."

"Good plan."

"But I _can _teach you to play the piano." She said, reaching out, taking my hand and resting it across a selection of keys.

My protests fell on deaf ears; Nikki proving to be surprisingly stubborn and remaining adamant that I at least try. With no other option, I shut up and let her teach me. My piano lesson was difficult, to say the least. Nikki first tried to teach me which key corresponded with each note, and that was complicated enough. My memory was never good to begin with, so I kept forgetting what my fingers were _doing _half the time. The other half of the time, my fingers were strangely stiff and just didn't want to do what I told them to do. When I eventually mastered a simple six note tune, Nikki decided it was time to simply throw me in at the deep end and teach me a song.

"I can't learn a song!" I wheedled. "I can barely play six notes properly!"

"Don't worry, it's easy." She said with a definitive nod. "I'll teach you a bit of the opening, alright?"

I groaned, wishing I could bang my head against something. "If you say so..." I relented.

I didn't recognise the tune as she taught me it, but thankfully she gave me a relatively easy composition of notes that even I couldn't muck up.

We started playing again after I finally worked out what I was meant to be doing. I felt clumsy compared to Nikki, my heavy notes plinking out and sounding horrifically chunky next to hers, which were flawless and sublime as normal. I was focusing so hard on tapping on the simple tune I had been given, that I almost didn't notice Nikki begin to sing again.

"_When you're weary, feeling small…"_

When Nikki sang, her voice still sparkled like a glorious stream, but it was different this time. She sang in a lower tone, her voice noticeably deeper. The song sounded almost mournful, the lyrics full of regret and woe, and Nikki's slow, drawn out words inexplicably made me feel quite sad...

_"When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all. I'm on your side, when times get rough and friends just can't be found. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down…"_

I was ensnared by the beauty of the song, almost forgetting everything that was going on around me, but I was brought down to the earth with a crash when I heard Nikki falter on the next bit. I looked up to see what was wrong and I was shocked to see tears forming in her eyes. Her playing came to an abrupt halt.

"Ni…Nikki!" I cried in surprise, instantly wanting to throw my arms around her. "What's wrong?"

"It's all right," she sniffed. "I'm alright, honestly. It's just that song…"

I frowned."What about it?"

"It's Christian's favourite," She admitted with a rather embarrassed smile. "And somehow it's become our song…" she was blushing now, and although I didn't quite know why, I preferred her blushing than teary. "So, whenever I play it, I get a little emotional…"

I didn't quite know what to say. "You two have a song, huh?"

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile. "I play it for him every time I see him… he loves it." She paused before asking "Do you and Elliot have a song?"

"Elliot and me?" I asked, floundering a little. "No, I can't say that we do."

"You should." Nikki said with a definitive nod of her head. She had her hands on the keys again and was looking thoughtful. "Like I said before, sharing a piece of music is a wonderful thing, it really is. Songs have meaning, you know, and sharing the meaning of something between two people is so… beautiful, I think."

I couldn't help but smile. "Wow, Nik…" I laughed, running a hand through my hair. "For as long as we have been friends, I never knew about this side of you. You kinda shocked me…"

Nikki looked at me. "Shocked you?"

"Yeah." I grinned, sheepishly. "I always said to myself that you can't judge a Pokemon on their appearance because there's more to them than meets the eye. I guess I need to remember that that goes for humans too... We're all so much more than we present to others, I guess."

Nikki was smiling again. She sniffed, repositioned her hands on the keys and effortlessly played a few notes. "Come on," she said. "Let's try it again. You remember how to do it?"

"I think so," I laughed, placing my own unsteady hands on the keys.

"Alright," she grinned, her hands beginning to dance over the piano once again, easily picking up the melody from when she had left off. As the simple tune sounded out into the empty living room, echoing and reverberating like a hundred pianos were playing, the hauntingly beautiful and poignant notes inexplicably tugging at my heartstrings, she turned to look at me. "Thank you for letting me share this music with you, Sienna."

I grinned at her, attempting to play the own small part I had been given. "I think I should be thanking you,"

A wide beaming smile broke out over her face before she once again broke out into song. Her voice was perfect, passionate and melodious, sounding like she meant every single word she sang.

"_When you're down and out, when you're on the streets, when evening falls so hard, I will comfort you. I'll take your part when darkness comes and pain is all around...Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down…_"

And as the song continued, the sound of music echoing all around that tiny living room in that house in Fuchsia, I understood. I understood Nikki's love and passion for music, and as I watched her face simply beam with happiness as she continued to play, her eyes dazzling and alight with a passion I had never seen there before. I found myself smiling. I felt like I was seeing Nikki for the first time, like she had come alive and blossomed right in front of me and I was seeing her for who she really was for the first time. I understood everything Nikki said about the power and magic of music. It had made Nikki into who she really was, and I loved seeing her so excited and passionate.

And that's why I hoped that if Nikki really wanted to combine her two loves, music and contest battling, that she would do her best to make that happen. I knew that if you had a love, like the love I rekindled for cooking and baking, you had to chase it in order to make it a reality. Dreams very rarely came true if you just sat around and hoped real hard for them. Talent, even if you had in seemingly endless supply, like Nikki had, often wasn't enough in this day and age. Hard work, determination and even a little bit of luck was just as important as natural ability and a desire for something to happen, perhaps even more so. I just hoped that one day Nikki would be able to fulfil her dream. Not just as her friend, but as someone who could appreciate the beauty and sheer ability the young woman sitting on my side displayed.

Because the sound of music echoing all around me was simply too beautiful to ever be contained in one tiny room.

* * *

><p><strong>The Sound of Music<strong>

**Fin.**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot. I feel bad I haven't published anything to the extension in so long, but I got this idea and I just had to write it. **

**The two songs used in this fic are "Serenade" by Daphne Gere, first used in an episode of the anime Fruits Basket, and the second is "Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel, a personal favourite of mine. **

**I do have a couple more oneshots in the pipeline I would eventually like to get around to writing. Among Monty's backstory and Nathan's backstory, I have another cooking fic called 'Hell's Kitchen' I wanna write, plus a GreenhornShipping oneshot that shows Elliot and Sienna's first meeting as kids. Just wanna ask you guys which one you'd like to see next?**

**Thanks so much to my reviewers Sniper Mudkip, WildCroconaw, May and Dawn are the best, WOWFan123, eeveelutionluvr, TwewyReaperGirl, ShadowSerenity57, The Neverending Meep and WarriorSwift.**

**Extra special thanks to WarriorSwift for helping me out with the new name for the extension!**

**Until next time, guys :D**


	7. Play It Again, Greenhorn

**Play it Again, Greenhorn**

"_He was cute. All the picture of innocence, you know? His glasses really were too big for his face. And he was a geek. Always lugging around huge Pokemon trainer manuals and wearing geeky looking sweaters with Pikachus on them, and hiding out in the long grass on Route 1 looking for Pidgey and Caterpie."_

_Long before meeting Elliot Wood as a 16 year old Elite trainer and falling in love with him over the course of her incredible journey, Sienna Volbeda knew the "Green and Black Boy" as a young child, growing up in the same small neighbourhood of Pallet Town. But it wasn't always smooth sailing for our star-crossed lovers..._

_This one-shot takes place a year after Spirited's conclusion, on Sienna and Elliot's one year anniversary._

* * *

><p>Stressed didn't even begin to cover how I was feeling as I darted around my room, throwing old clothes into the basket and attempting to straighten everything out so that my room had some semblance of tidiness instead of the pigsty it normally was. I moved like a whirlwind, throwing anything and everything I got my hands on either in boxes, behind something or in the wardrobe where I couldn't see it. Out of sight, out of mind, as my mother always said. But as I worked, busy readjusting ornaments and putting books back on my bookcase, desperate to get my room tidy before having to leave, something caught my eye and it immediately made me stop what I was doing. I moved forward, my eyes fixed on the framed photograph that sat proudly at the front of the top shelf. A smile stretched over my face as I reached out to pick it up and investigate it closer.<p>

It was a silly, impulsive snap, a little too bright in places, slightly over-exposed, at an odd angle and with a sizeable chunk of my own face cut out. As well as that, what was left of my face couldn't be said it was my photogenic best. My smile was crooked, I had too many teeth on show and basically, it certainly wasn't my best side for a flattering photograph of myself. Elliot, who was next to me in the photograph looked stunned, his eyes wide and his mouth was hanging open in the ghost of a protest as the camera was turned on him. He looked like a Deerling caught in headlights. I chuckled as I looked at the absolute state we were both in. We looked ridiculous, I knew that, but that photo was one of my most treasured possessions. I didn't have a lot of important, sentimental items, but it was well known that anything precious I did have could be found on this very bookcase.

I ran my eyes over the strange plethora of items I had amassed over the years. Each one held its own story, its own testimony and its own special memories. There was a photograph of me, Nikki, Jasmine and Scott on Slateport beach, a Mareep mail, never written on, a TM case, devoid of TMs and a badge case containing gleaming two gleaming badges, spoils from my victories against Misty and Wallace. But the photo of me and Elliot was quite possibly the most treasured thing I owned and would probably ever own, despite what a bad photograph it was. Elliot was painfully camera-shy, and no matter how much I had begged and pleaded in the past, he simply would never sit still for a photograph with me, protesting and squealing like a girl or simply running away until the camera was out of sight. So eventually I had grown impatient and simply turned the camera on the two of us when he hadn't expected it. The result wasn't a photograph I could proudly show off, in fact, I was a little embarrassed at how silly I looked, but I loved it all the same.

I took in a deep sigh and turned to face my mirror, grimacing a little as I surveyed my reflection. Of course, on today of all days, my hair was refusing to co-operate, sticking up in odd quiffs and refusing to settle, no matter how many times I wet it or tugged a brush or a pair of hair straighteners through it. To add insult to injury, I also had a large angry red spot erupting right in the centre of my forehead.

"Are you serious…?" I moaned at my own reflection, impatiently snatching up a pot of foundation on my desk. I unscrewed the lid, dabbed my fingers into it and slicked the gloopy liquid onto my face before vigorously rubbing it in. After making completely sure it was rubbed in and not streaky, I brushed a thin layer of face powder experimentally over that and then looked in the mirror. I was immediately disappointed. I had half-expected to see a glorious, clear complexion staring back at me, even though I knew makeup wasn't designed to work miracles. Instead of the model girl looks I had wanted to be reflected back at me, I looked bright orange, like I had gotten into a fight with a tanning bed and lost...

I let out an anguished groan and glared at the makeup, wishing I could just sweep all the infuriating pots and tubes and brushes off my desk in anger. Why I was even bothering with makeup today when I never normally wore it was totally beyond me. Impatiently, I stomped out of my room, splashed my face with cold water and scrubbed until I had removed every speck of the offending orange mess covering it. As my face returned to its normal porcelain white complexion, I patted it dry and surveyed myself in the mirror hanging above the bathroom sink, needing to push myself up on my tip-toes to see myself properly. The spot still stood out like a mountain on my forehead, but no way was I going out looking like a carrot in that makeup. So, firmly deciding against the makeup and deciding that Elliot would simply have to take me as he found me; I padded back into my room to try and get ready.

I closed the door behind me, slipped off the pyjamas I had been wearing all day into just my underwear. Shivering slightly, I padded to my wardrobe and opened it, looking for something suitable to wear.

Tonight was a date night, and we were supposed to be going out for a posh meal, which meant I'd have to dress all girly and smart. I was feeling a little nervous about having to dress up. I normally didn't do 'making an effort'. Added to that, I had a grand total of only two dresses to choose from. One vibrant red, figure hugging, knee length that I had never worn, the other a full length floaty purple one with a sweetheart neckline I had bought for a wedding and never worn since. I groaned at the thought of making the choice and held each one up to my body a few times, thinking deeply.

"_The red's nice, but it looks a little too… sexy." _I cringed at the thought of ever matching me and the word 'sexy' together. "_Elliot will think I'm trying too hard. Or something worse. But the purple looks a little too… casual. I'd have to dress it up and I can't even be bothered to do that. God, what will I do…?" _

It was at that moment that I heard something make a noise downstairs. Automatically dismissing it as the antics of mum's newly hatched litter of Houndour, I ignored it and continued with trying to make my decision. However, as I dithered, I heard the sound of the doorknob on my door being turned. Before I could even register what was going on, let alone shout out a protest, it had swung open and someone was standing in my room. Someone was in my room with a full view of me standing there in nothing but mismatched underwear.

"Sienna! How are—?"

"GET OUT!" I shrieked, pulling the two dresses to my body immediately in an attempt to shield myself.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The figure I now knew to be Elliot looked shocked at my screams. "Sienna, it's only me!"

"I'm not wearing anything!" I cried shrilly, feeling a furious blush erupt over my face. "I'm in my underwear!" I added needlessly.

"I can see that." Elliot was chuckling. "Nice bra."

At that point I wanted the ground to swallow me up. Flailing uselessly, completely mortified and unable to calm myself down, I carried on shrieking. "Don't!" I squealed. "Turn around!"

"Whaaat?" Elliot looked hurt. "Sienna, I'm your boyfriend!"

"It doesn't matter! Turn around, now!"

"Fine…" he said, chuckling, but turning around obediently.

"Oh my God…" I muttered to myself, completely and utterly mortified.

I floundered for a few seconds, looking at the dresses. At this point I didn't care what I ended up wearing so long as it was something. I felt horribly vulnerable standing here in just my underwear. I had almost decided on the red when I realised it had a huge zip up the back of it. I groaned. That kind of zip would quite likely make it next to impossible to get that dress on and off, which I definitely didn't want. Decision made, I threw the red dress down on the floor before threading the purple one off the hanger. Looking up quickly to make sure Elliot still had his back turned to me, I pulled the purple dress up over my head and struggled into it. As the cool fabric coated my body, covering me up completely, I let out a sigh of relief, combed my hair back into submission with my fingers and turned to look at Elliot again.

"Alright, you can look now."

"Yay!" he cried as he turned around.

The look of exuberance on his face suddenly melted away as he laid eyes on me to be replaced with what seemed to be a complete look of shock. He said nothing, simply stared. I could feel his eyes darting over my whole body and I chuckled nervously. He still stared. I shifted from foot-to-foot, feeling all of a sudden exceedingly uncomfortable. "What…?" I said, smiling wryly. "I can't look _that _bad, can I?"

Elliot was smiling now, his whole face soft. For a moment, I felt like I was looking at the face of a lovestruck young teenager. "Oh, Sienna." He said, his soft smile suddenly widening into a grin. "You look beautiful."

As that word left his lips, it felt like my whole body turned to jelly, my brain included. I tried to talk as if nothing had happened, and act all cool and sophisticated in face of the compliment, but I couldn't. The only appropriate response my brain could think of was to squeal uncontrollably. Well, squeal, blush violently, bring both hands up to my face in a hopeless attempt to conceal that blush and then squeal some more. "Me…? Beautiful? Elliot, I think you need to get a new prescription in your glasses…"

Elliot laughed delightedly. "No, Sienna." He grinned, before coming up to me. His hands reached out and took mine, before he kissed my forehead sweetly, the touch of his lips soft and fleeting, almost like the touch of a ghost. "You're stunning."

Once again, my brain could only think to react in the most inappropriate of ways. A burst of maddened, nervous laughter escaped me, sounding harsh and manic in the silence of my room. I instantly blushed again, wishing I could hide my face away and forget I had ever even did that.

Elliot was still grinning, shaking his head fondly. "Happy anniversary, Sienna." He said, before leaning in to kiss me properly.

"Happy anniversary, Elliot." I grinned, kissing him back.

In that one moment though, the look of warmth on his face suddenly melted away to be replaced with a wicked smile. He reached around and slapped me on the backside, making me squeal again. I tried to speak, but my words came out in an unintelligible babble.

Elliot was laughing as he swung my hands back and forth. "Come on, we need to go. Our reservationis in an hour."

"An hour?" I frowned. "Why the hurry? That's ages away..."

"I know, but I have something to give you first. Come downstairs."

I squeaked, suddenly horrifically conscious of the fact I was in bare feet and I was still sporting unkempt hair. "I'm still not ready! Give me a few minutes!"

"Women!" Elliot grinned, shaking his head teasingly. "You take too long to get ready. Hurry up!"

"Alright, alright, bossy!" I grinned, quickly leaning down to pull on a pair of flat silver sandals from my wardrobe and grab a tiny grey shrug that I pulled over my shoulders to shelter myself from the cold September night. A quick stop to spritz perhaps a touch too much vanilla-smelling perfume on myself, tug a brush through my hair and to grab my handbag and I was ready to go. Elliot's hand threaded its way into mine as we left my room. He lead me downstairs, but hesitated outside the living room, telling me to wait and close my eyes.

I did as I was told without protesting, but I still found myself privately wondering what the hell was going on. A moment later, I heard the door open and there was a loud rustling and crinkling sound coming from nearby. "Okay, open your eyes now."

I opened my eyes, blinking slightly to get used to the light again, and saw Elliot laden down with three wrapped parcels. One that was an odd shape, big, soft and squashy looking with lots of bumps and odd protrusions, another long, flat and thin and the final, a tiny square shape. They were wrapped in what looked suspiciously like birthday paper, and Elliot blushed as I stared at them. "Sorry about the wrapping," he said sheepishly. "There's not much in the way of anniversary wrapping paper."

"Oh," I said, glancing in sheer curiosity at the plethora of things he was holding. "Are they all for me…?"

"No, I brought them for your mother," Elliot teased. "Of course they're for you. Here."

I giggled as he thrust the biggest of the packages towards me. It was huge; I had to wrap both arms around it to keep a hold of it. Out of curiosity, I felt it all over and shook it excitedly, like a child would at Christmas. I poked my finger through the wrapping and I felt something plush and soft. Immediately I began tearing open the paper. As I ripped it open, a blue face suddenly poked out from the crinkled paper. I squeaked in delight, knowing what it was almost straight away. The rest of the paper fell away to the ground to reveal an almost life-sized Mareep plushie.

"Elliot!" I squealed, hugging the giant Mareep plushie to me. "I love it!"

"I thought you might," he grinned.

"It's so soft!" I cried like an exuberant little girl, running my hands all over the gloriously soft body of the giant Mareep plushie, even burying my face in it.

"I know." He was still smiling. "Here, open this one next."

I almost didn't want to put down the Mareep plushie, but I set it next to me on the stairs before taking the long, flat thin parcel. This one also felt slightly soft and I was quite puzzled as to what it could be. I edged the paper open with my thumbnail and unwrapped it tentatively. There was a transparent cellophane bag inside, covering what looked like an incredibly deep blue fabric.

"What is it…?"

Elliot was simply smiling, so I opened it up properly and let the fabric unwind. I was totally surprised to see that it was a dress. It was brilliant sapphire blue in colour, and fell to about mid-calf length. The top half was teased into a halterneck with thick straps that fell into a deep neckline which I suspected would show off quite a bit of my rather unimpressive chest. The waist of the dress was cinched in while the skirt flared out like an old fashioned dress from the 50's. Had I seen this particular dress hanging on a rail in a shop I probably would have walked straight past it, thinking it too flashy or flamboyant for my tastes. But having it there in my hands, I saw it in a completely different light. I loved it.

"Elliot! This… is beautiful!" I gasped, running the fabric over in my hands, admiring the way it slid through my hands like silk and shone and glimmered like moonlight. I found the back of the dress and inspected the label. He even had it in the right size. "You even… you even got it in the right size!" I cried in astonishment.

"See, I'm not totally hopeless." He grinned. "I _was_ actually gonna have you wear it tonight. But you look stunning already without having to wear it. We'll save that one for another night."

"Oh Elliot," I grinned, looking up at him. "This is all too much!"

"I'm not done yet." He grinned, holding out the final parcel.

This one was small and perfectly square. My heart was beating faster and faster as I ripped off the wrapping paper. As the paper fell away, my heart seemed to stop right there and a rush of emotions swelled within me as I realised exactly what it was I was holding in my trembling hand.

A jewellery box.

Elliot must have seen the panic on my face as he instantly cut in. "Don't worry!" he cried. "It's not a ring or anything like that,"

"Thank God…" I breathed out. "I think my mother would have killed you…"

Elliot laughed. "Don't worry. No heavy commitment stuff just yet." He paused. "Go on, open it! I really wanna see what you think of this one."

Shaking slightly, I pushed open the lid. My eyes met the sight of a thin silver chain spiralled up onto the plush cushion of the box. Settled atop the snake-like coil of interlinking silver chain was a tiny, delicate silver heart. I breathed out in surprise, suddenly totally lost for words.

"You like it?"

"I… I _love _it."

"Thank God!" he laughed. "I spent hours in that jeweller's in Celadon's department trying to pick something out. I think the girls working there were beginning to get worried…"

I was barely listening to his little anecdote. I was just so stunned by what was staring back at me that I was completely incapable of speech. As I stood there, dumbfounded, Elliot took a couple of steps forward. "Now, I don't mind so much about you not wearing the dress I bought you, but I _do _insist you wear this…" he murmured, his fingers closing around the delicate chain and lifting it out. "Lift up your hair?"

I obediently gathered my hair away and I felt Elliot's warm hands brush me just momentarily, before I felt the cool thin silver being draped around my neck. I felt weak even at the touch of his gentle fingertips on the sensitive tickly skin at the nape of my neck . Within moments, the necklace was securely fastened and Elliot was moving away. "Beautiful." He murmured, before dropping down to kiss my cheek.

"Thank you," I smiled, feeling my chest swell with gratitude, amazement and a mad rush of love for the young man standing before me. "You've really spoiled me."

"Not at all," Elliot grinned.

"Now, I _do _have something for you," I nodded, remembering the little small wrapped parcel I had tucked away in the safety of my bag. "But you'll have to wait until we get to the restaurant."

"Aww," Elliot feigned looking upset.

"I'm serious, you have to—"

I was suddenly interrupted by a door opening to my left. With a rush of cool air that instinctively made me flinch a little, my mother came in, clutching several empty packets of Pokemon food. She did a double take as she saw Elliot and I standing there, before she smiled broadly. "Sienna! Elliot! My goodness, you two look so smart!"

"Thanks Mrs Volbeda," Elliot grinned, looking sheepish.

"Enough of this 'Mrs' stuff, Elliot, I feel like an old woman when you call me that!" Mum laughed. "Suzanne, please." She paused for a moment before asking "Are you two just heading out?"

"Yep." Elliot smiled, reaching over and slotting his arm around my waist. He pulled me close so that I fit snugly under his arm.

While he and mum continued chatting, I found myself grinning for what felt like absolutely no reason at all. Standing here, cuddled up to Elliot and feeling secure in his embrace was quite possibly one of the best feelings I had felt in a long time.

But I fell out of my almost hypnotic trance and hit the earth with a sobering crash so sooner had I heard the phrase "Let me get the camera," slip from my mother's innocent tongue.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Elliot got there first. No sooner had the word "camera" been expelled out into the air, I felt his whole body stiffen and become rigid. His voice sounded panicked and high-pitched. "Oh no! I can't... Not a camera! I really hate cameras."

Mum looked surprised and dare I say, a little disappointed? "But the two of you look so sweet together..."

Elliot was shaking his head firmly so I squeezed his hand momentarily. "It's okay. No cameras." I told him reassuringly.

Mum sighed. "Camera-shy?"

"Camera-_phobic._" I corrected her with a short chuckle.

Elliot was now looking sheepish, uncomfortable and worried, almost like he was afraid a phantom camera would spontaneously appear from nowhere to take his picture. "It's okay." I told him again, before looking back at my mother. "Sorry, Mum. No photos here tonight."

"Alright…" Mum relented, with a deep sigh. "I guess I'll leave you to get on with it then."

"I won't have her back late," Elliot suddenly intercepted..

"That's alright, I trust you, Elliot." Mum laughed. "I won't wait up for you, Sienna. Enjoy yourselves, kids."

"We will,"

We left the house immediately, Elliot insistent we move as fast as we could to be at our mystery reservation in time. As we stepped out into the cool September air, a thought struck me. I didn't actually know where we were meant to be going.

"So, where _is _our reservation?"

Elliot was smiling wickedly. "I booked us a table in quite possibly the swankiest restaurant in Viridian City. Ever heard of _Sanctuary_?"

At that moment I wanted to drop. I was reeling, totally astonished. _Sanctuary _was the newest restaurant in Viridian City, rumoured to be a serious contender to gain a coveted Michelin star after only a few short months of being open. It was decadent and high class, a favourite among the richer and the well-to-do with exquisite local fare on offer. For an aspiring pastry chef like me, securing a job at a place like _Sanctuary _would probably have me set for life.

"You got us a table at _Sanctuary_?! How?! That place is so posh! And so expensive! How did you do it?!"

Elliot grinned and tapped my nose. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Get off!" I grinned, playfully pushing him away. But then another thought struck me. Elliot had gotten us a table at _Sanctuary _in Viridian City. But we were in Pallet Town. And according to my watch we only had forty minutes until our reservation. Panic immediately set in. "Elliot! Viridian is miles away! We're never gonna make it there by eight!"

"Yes, we will." He grinned. "Cos I've got a little surprise for you."

"A surprise?" I asked in puzzlement.

"Yeah. Do you remember how I got you to Cerulean City that time? From Pewter?"

"Yeah, of course. Your… your brother's Dragonite…?"

Before I had even said that, it hit me. I knew exactly what Elliot's surprise was without him even having to tell or show me, and a grin lifted the corners of my mouth.

"Got it in one, greenhorn!" Elliot cried, letting a Pokeball fly from his hand. In a burst of brilliant white light a huge, familiar Dragonite was standing right in front of me. The Dragonite roared and flexed itself as it was released.

"Lance's Dragonite!" I cried out happily.

"Yeah!" Elliot grinned, slapping his hand on the appreciative Dragonite's back. "Just like old times, huh?"

"Just like old times." I echoed.

Elliot smiled again, before sweeping his hand towards the Dragonite. "Well madame, your chariot awaits."

"Ehehe…" I said nervously, looking up at the Dragonite. It was huge. I then looked down at the maxi dress I was currently wearing. As much as the dress and being girly was growing on me, I all of sudden really didn't want to be wearing it. I was going to make such a fool out of myself attempting to get up onto my 'chariot'. "And how on earth do you expect me to get up onto him?" I challenged Elliot, my hands on my hips.

"Easy." Elliot grinned, before suddenly reaching out, lifting me up and easily sitting me like a side-saddle Rapidash or Ponyta rider on top of Dragonite's back, me squealing the whole way. While I attempted to get my breath back and calm myself down after my very sudden and very unexpected flight, Elliot easily vaulted up onto Dragonite like it wasn't even an effort. He looked back at me, smiling. "Ready?"

"Yep!" I cried, wrapping my arms around his waist and locking them.

With a low whistle, Elliot ordered Dragonite to fly. Dragonite shot into the air like a bullet, and as I felt the familiar rush of air that hit my face that was so synonymous with flying, I felt a mad rush of excitement course through my veins. I had to fight to not cry out and woop and holler in elation, but deciding I really should be ladylike; I simply squeezed Elliot tight and watched the rush of dark scenery go by.

The flight was mercifully short, and we touched down in Viridian just in time to reach _Sanctuary _for our reservation. The restaurant was simple exquisite. No expense had obviously been spared in its décor and menu, and the staff were painfully polite, calling us both 'sir' and 'madam', fussing over us and attending to our every whim. We ordered from a menu of gloriously fancy food and were left to our own devices while it was prepared. As we sat across from each other, giggling at the thought of young people like us dining in a restaurant that seemed to be exclusively filled with posh snobs, well-to-do older couples or food critics, I remembered the small wrapped parcel I had safely tucked up in my bag. As Elliot stopped talking to devour a piece of bread, I took in a deep breath to pluck up my courage.

"Elliot…"

"Yeah?" he asked, barely even looking up from the bit of bread he was chewing on.

"You remember how we met?"

That made him sit up and pay attention. "In Pewter?"

"No!" I grinned. "Back when we were kids."

"When we were _kids_?" Elliot sounded surprised, and I couldn't quite blame him. "Yeah, actually." He said, after a moment of thinking. "I do. Do you?"

"Oh yeah," I said with a grin. "Though there are aspects of that meeting I think I'd _rather _forget..."

Elliot was sniggering as I said this. "If I remember rightly… you were such a bully, Sienna Volbeda."

"I know," I said, cringing as I sipped from my water. "I was so mean to you."

"You still are,"

"Oh shush," I grinned. "But yeah... Do you remember all that?"

"How could I forget?"

"Yeah..." I grinned. "Well, shush for a minute, okay? I want to tell you about it."

As I began to speak, recount those bygone days, it was so oddly clear to me. Like watching a movie of your own life, I suppose. As I spoke, it was no longer 17th September 2011. It became April of 2002, when I was only a mere seven years old. As the words began to spill from my mouth, the setting of the glamorous restaurant _Sanctuary _in Viridian City melted away and we were transported back to an unusually sunny April day, caught up in bushes and greenery of Route 1, just outside Pallet Town. A smile tickled my face as the story fell from my lips and I began to share with my boyfriend shared memories from many years ago.

_I'm seven years old, nearly eight. And I'm small for my age. I don't like being small for my age because the bushes and rushes of Route 1 are so tall that they tickle and irritate my nostrils as I push through them. I'm upset and I'm crying. I'm angry too. Angry at _him_. I can hear the cry of Pidgey overhead and the rustles of Rattata scrambling for cover as I disturb the bushes. I don't care. In fact, I want to shout at them, scare them away completely. I hate them. I hate them all! I hate Pokemon!_

_I keep stumbling forward into the long grass, not caring where I'm going. I don't know why I'm running or where I'm running to. All I know is that I want away from that house and the monster inside it. The monster and his monster Pokemon._

_I angrily push some tall, leafy plants out of my way and suddenly I emerge into a clearing with a tiny pond nearby, empty apart from a scant few bushes and trees. I hear a splash and I look towards the pond. There's someone there!_

_It's a boy. He sits on his haunches at the side of the pond, clutching a sketchbook and pencil, a bag spilling various books and instruments I don't recognise in a heap next to him. I blink, cocking my head to one side to try and get a better look at him. He's got fluffy brown hair that's a little unkempt and has twigs and leaves sticking up in it. He's wearing what looks like a knitted sweater with tiny Pikachu all over it and khaki patterned shorts. And any good view of his face is completely hidden by comically big glasses. I look at him as he pokes the water. As I stand there, he is distracted from the water and begins to laugh as a tiny Caterpie crawls down from a nearby tree. I instantly feel myself getting angry. I don't like Caterpie. So I don't like _him _either._

_I stride forward and pick up a tiny pebble that's sitting nearby. With as much force as I can muster I throw it. It falls short of where I want it to go, but its enough to startle the Caterpie and send it squealing back into the tree where it came from._

_The little boy stands up, looking affronted. "Hey!" He cries, his voice surprisingly high pitched. "What are you doing?"_

_I scuff the ground with my white trainers. "I hate Caterpie."_

_"It wasn't doing anything to you!"_

_I say nothing. _

_"Who are you?" he asks, sounding nervous._

_"Mum always says I'm not allowed to talk to strangers." I say. _

_He looks at me. He then looks around the rest of the clearing and then shrugs. "Your mum's not here." _

_When I stay quiet again, he tries another tactic. "What are you doing out here?"_

_"I'm running away." I say before I mean to._

_The boy's eyes widen and it's only now I notice how brilliantly green they are. "Why?"_

_"I don't like home. I'm not going back." I say, and as if to cement the matter, I sit right on the ground where I stand._

_"Are you running away to be a Pokemon trainer?"_

_"No! I hate Pokemon!"_

_The little boy looks crushed. "You... hate Pokemon?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Why?"_

_"Cos they're nasty! Especially my dad's!"_

_"Pokemon aren't nasty..." The boy said slowly. "Pokemon are only bad if their trainers are bad."_

_I refuse to say anything. _

_"I want to be a Pokemon trainer." The boy says nervously. _

_"Good for you," I say, pulling angrily at tufts of grass. "I don't."_

_"You won't run away far if you don't have Pokemon." The boy says wisely. _

_"I don't care. I'll manage." _

_"I don't have Pokemon either, though." He says. "I'm not old enough. I will be soon, though!" He adds quickly, like it matters. "I'll be ten in September. Then I can go training Pokemon."_

_"I'm seven." I say carefully. I don't like this boy that's older than me. "I'll be eight in a week. But even when I'm ten I won't be a trainer."_

_The boy looks a little bit annoyed, but he sighs and looks at the stuff he has next to him. "I can't wait to be a trainer." He says, like it's all that matters. _

_I open my mouth to answer him, but a voice suddenly reaches my ears. "Sienna! Sienna!"_

_It's a male voice. A familiar male voice. A familiar and _angry _male voice. I know it instantly and I freeze. The boy looks at me. "Sienna?" he asks, stumbling slightly over the name. He pronounces it like 'Senna'. "Is that you?"_

_"No!" I say at once. _

_"I think you are Sienna," he nods, this time managing to get my name right. "I'm Elliot."_

_"Sienna!" the voice comes again. This time it sounds a lot closer. I bite my lip._

_Elliot's looking at me again, like he's trying to work out everything about me. "Who's shouting on you?"_

_"My dad." I say angrily. _

_"Shouldn't you go find him?"_

_"No! I hate him."_

_Elliot looks surprised, but we don't have any further chance to talk as my dad suddenly rampages into the clearing, looking furious. Instantly I let out a cry of surprise as he tears in and looks at me. _

_"Sienna! What the hell do you think you're _doing _running away like that?! Your mother is worried sick?!"_

_I say nothing. My mouth won't open and my words won't come. I'm scared. I'm scared of _him_…_

_Dad glares at me again, but then realises there's someone else around. He looks towards the boy standing next to us. He looks a little surprised. "You're the Woods' boy, aren't you?"_

_Elliot nods. _

_"Were you playing with my daughter?"_

_This time, Elliot shakes his head. "No. I was looking for Caterpie, sir, and she just appeared."_

_Dad sighs and looks back at me. "See, Sienna. This boy's doing it right. You should be out here playing with Pokemon too."_

_"I don't like Pokemon." I say at once._

_"Enough of your backchat, madam!" Dad snaps and grabs me around my upper arm, his huge, red fingers easily dwarfing my pale skinny arm. I'm dragged to my feet and pulled the entire way home, kicking and screaming all the while._

_I don't see Elliot again for many days. I'm glad of this, because I've decided I don't like him. But then, two days before my birthday he appears again. I'm out in the front garden, helping my mum weed the plants, which I hate doing, but it's better than the other option she gave me. I would rather weed than clean my room and that's that. While Mum and I weed, Dad is in his dojo in the middle of training. Sometimes I hear him shout or hear his Pokemon roar but I try and ignore it. I'm busy trying to pull out a very stubborn weed when I hear a voice come from above me. _

_"Sienna?"_

_I look up to see Elliot there, hanging over the front gate and staring directly at me. He seems to be wearing the exact same Pikachu sweatshirt and khaki shorts he had on the last time I had seen him._

_"Elliot?" I say, putting my trowel down. I'm surprised. He's the last person I expect to see. But then I feel a little angry again. I don't know how he found me. I didn't _want _him to find me._

_"Your name is Sienna Volbeda." He suddenly announces._

_"What? How do you know?"_

_"This is the Volbeda Dojo." Elliot says simply. "My dad told me about the dojo. He said I should come here to ask your dad about Pokemon training because I'm going to be trainer soon."_

_"He's training inside." I say at once, digging my trowel back into the ground. "He won't see you."_

_"Oh." Elliot doesn't sound disappointed. "Maybe I'll come back tomorrow then," he says, jumping down from the gate._

_I say nothing and let him walk away._

_True to form, he's back the next day. Dad goes out for the entire day first thing in the morning and won't tell anyone where he's going, and by the time I'm home from school, he's still not back. Halfway through eating my dinner, I hear a knock at the door. I slide off the chair and run to answer it. _

_"Elliot?" I frown as I open the door and see him. He's wearing another knitted sweater, but this one is blue and has tiny Squirtles on it. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I told you I'd be back today," he says, quite proudly. _

_"My dad's out." I saw flatly, going to close the door._

_"Oh." Elliot says. "Can't I come in and wait for him?"_

_I'm about to say no and shove the door shut in his face, when my mother pops her head around the door and sees our 'visitor'._

_"Oh Sienna!" She sounds delighted. "Is this a friend of yours?"_

_"No!" I say firmly just as Elliot says "Yes!"_

_Mum shushes me and I glare at her angrily. She doesn't see. She's too busy talking to Elliot, looking surprised. "You're Caroline Woods' son, aren't you?"_

_"Yep!" Elliot says at once. _

_"Ah, I know Caroline. She's a lovely woman." Mum smiles. "I'm glad you've made friends with my daughter. Come in, have some dinner."_

_Before I know what's happening, we're back inside the house, _my _house and Elliot's sitting across the table from me, a plate of chicken in cream sauce and rice in front of him. He eats enthusiastically, spilling rice everywhere, answering question after question my mum fires at him. I poke what's left on my plate grumpily, suddenly not hungry. _

_"Sienna?" Elliot suddenly asks. "What are you doing tomorrow?"_

_I shrug. _

_"Do you want to go play tomorrow?" _

_"Why?"_

_"Because... Because I'm going away tomorrow night."_

_Despite myself, he's got my interest but I try not to show it as I pick at a bit of chicken. "Why are you going away tomorrow?"_

_"My dad's sending me away to live with my brother for a little while." He says, looking a bit sad. "My brother's going to teach me how to train Pokemon properly before I go on my journey in September."_

_The conversation is about Pokemon, so I instantly find myself bored. "I can't tomorrow." I say. "Tomorrow's my birthday."_

_"Your birthday?" _

_"Yeah, I'll be eight!" I say, puffing up my chest in pride. _

_"Oh." Elliot looks a bit disappointed. "So, we can't play tomorrow?"_

_"No."_

_"Aww..." Elliot murmurs sadly just as mum comes in to take our plates. "Thank you Mrs Volbeda," he says as his plate is taken away._

_"Aww, what nice manners you have." Mum trills happily as she leaves the sitting room again. "You're welcome, Elliot."_

_Elliot and I look at each other across the table. I stare, and swing my legs in the chair, partly from boredom and partly because I'm secretly hoping I'll accidentally kick him. Elliot eventually slides off the chair after being silent for a while.. "I should be going. Mum will be worrying..."_

_"Bye, Elliot." I say and I let him see himself out._

_To my abject surprise, Elliot returns the next day, the morning of my birthday, after the excitement and opening of presents. I'm standing in the hallway, kitted out in my newest clothes and grinning as mum turns a camera on me in preparation to take the yearly photograph she always seems to want when I hear a knock at the door. _

_It's Elliot._

_'Happy Birthday Sienna!" He cries happily._

_I look at him blankly. "I thought you were going away?"_

_"I am. I'm leaving in like ten minutes." He nods. "I just wanted to stop in and give you a birthday present."_

_I frown. "A birthday present?"_

_"Yeah." He nods._

_I don't see him holding any parcels or envelopes so I open my mouth to dispute this, but all of a sudden he's stepped forward and something wet is touching my cheek. I squeal, the young boy suddenly uncomfortably close and then the harsh, flickering light of a camera flash bursts across my vision, sending colourful fireworks spiralling everywhere. All of a sudden I'm disorientated and dizzy and I back away from Elliot, rather frightened. He's kissed me! I scrub at the wet spot on my cheek. It feels dirty where he's kissed me…_

_He's smiling as he picks up the bag he had left sitting on the doorstep and shoulders it. "It's too bad I couldn't stick around," he says. "You're nice. I think this could have been the start of a beautiful friendship," he imparts before turning and leaving._

My story-telling is suddenly interrupted by Elliot laughing. His eyes are shining with mirth, expelling a resounding belly laugh and he beat the table with his fist, looking like he couldn't quite believe what I had just said. "Oh God, did I seriously say that?"

"Yep!" I grinned. "I always remember it cos my mum made me sit and watch _Casablanca _afterwards cos I was so confused as to why she was laughing so much."

"Forget _Casablanca, _I was more like a Casanova!" Elliot laughed, looking embarrassed. "Kissing you on the cheek like that at nine years of age!" He then softened, looking at me, another warm smile appearing on his face. "You know, I'd almost forgotten about that. When I met you in Cerulean I didn't remember you as that girl I'd kissed when I was nine years old. I remembered you as that Pokemon hating bully whose dad owned that dojo."

I found myself cringing.

"But hey, I guess nine year old me wasn't as stupid as I thought. I saw something in you at nine years old. And I'm just so glad I got the chance to see it again." He reached out his hand to cover mine.

"Oh, Elliot..." I grinned, feeling a blush creep over my face. "But shush, no getting sappy just yet, okay? I have something for you."

"You do?"

"Yeah." I said, reaching down to the floor to grab my handbag. I unzipped it and pulled out the small rectangular parcel I had wrapped rather haphazardly in some green tissue paper and attempted to bind in some black ribbon. I handed it over, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed at the mediocre offerings I had to give him. "It's nothing fancy," I said, as he took it. "It's not a gorgeous dress or a beautiful necklace or... Or a Mareep plushie!" I said with a giggle. "But... I think it's special and important to us. So that's why I got you this. I just, uh... I just hope you like it."

Elliot looked quizzical as he opened up the green tissue paper. I felt nervous. As he pulled it away and looked down at what was inside, I saw his face suddenly change. For a long moment, he said nothing. I instantly thought the worst.

"Oh God, you don't like it..." I said out loud in horror.

His mouth was hanging open. "Sienna... Where did you...? This is... How did you...?"

"Didn't you listen when I was telling you the story?" I laughed. "My mum took a photograph. Remember?"

As Elliot turned the gift over and over in his hands, staring at it intently as if it held all the answers to all the questions he ever wanted, I caught another glimpse of it. To an unknowing eye, it looked unremarkable. I guess in a sense it _was _unremarkable. It was a picture in a frame. But I knew that the extra touches I had done for it would make it special. The frame was a dark brown, so dark in fact it looked almost black, but in the soft candlelight it looked almost like the bark of weathered oak tree. Spiralling up the frame were ornamental green leaves, like ivy growing up the wall of a house. Then there was the picture itself. It wasn't just any picture, though. It was a photograph. A very rare photograph at that. It was the photograph my mother had taken without me knowing when nine year old Elliot had kissed eight year old me on the cheek.

"Oh my God..." Elliot looked totally shocked, one hand over his mouth. "Sienna, where did you get this?"

"Took me forever," I laughed. "The camera was buried up in a box in the attic, and it was one of those disposable camera things, so it was next to impossible to find a place that would develop the film for me. And then the pictures took _weeks _to actually get here. I was beginning to panic it wouldn't get here on time. So...you like it?"

"Sienna, I love it." He said, setting the frame carefully down, almost like it was made of glass and would shatter at the slightest touch.

"It's not much, I know." I said quickly. "But I wanted to get you something meaningful. And I couldn't think of anything more meaningful than our... Sort of... First kiss."

"Even though you did look like you'd been slapped in the face with a Magikarp after it!" Elliot laughed. "Oh, Sienna... I love this, really. It's gonna go straight on my desk at home."

"Even though you hate photos of yourself?" I teased.

"I think I can make an exception for you," he was smiling again.

"Does that mean you'll take more photos with me?" I asked eagerly.

"Easy, tiger, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he grinned, his eyes shining. "Ah, look." He said, as a waiter suddenly began approaching the table. "Here's the food. Good, I'm starving!"

"Me too!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.

We were served, and we ate together, reminiscing and remembering over the past year we had been together. Every now and again, I saw him casting fond glances at the photo frame that was still sitting next to him on the table. I smiled every time he did so. It just proved to me that taking a risk with Elliot's present and not just simply buying something that he'd probably just throw in a drawer after a few months. I felt quietly proud of myself as the date continued. Before I knew it, a full hour and a half had passed, and our dessert plates were taken away, Elliot laughing as he leaned across the table to wipe a tiny speck of chocolate I had somehow smeared onto my cheek.

We left _Sanctuary _not long after finishing, Elliot paying discreetly, and still refusing to tell me how he had managed to secure a reservation in Viridian's most popular restaurant and how he had managed to _pay _for it. As we stepped out, Elliot led me to a secluded spot away from the still relatively busy streets. I had anticipated this was because he wanted to release Dragonite without drawing attention to ourselves, but instead, he delved into the pocket of his dinner jacket and took out… a camera?

"Elliot?" I said in surprise.

"Shush," he grinned, putting his finger to my lips. Before I could register what exactly was going on, Elliot had suddenly darted around me, slipped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close to him. His spare arm then reached to the sky. "Smile!"

As a bright, intrusive camera flash went off in my face, I gasped and then squealed, closing my eyes to try and shake off the fireworks of colour exploding across my vision. "Elliot! I wasn't ready! Let me see that!"

Elliot flashed the camera at me, grinning. I caught sight of the photograph and I immediately cringed when I saw myself. I had probably the goofiest half-smile I had ever seen splayed across my face and my eyes were wide with shock. Elliot on the other hand, who had been prepared, was wearing a gorgeous smile and looked effortlessly wonderfully handsome. Next to him, I felt stupid and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Delete that!" I whined, lunging for the camera.

"Why? I like it!" Elliot laughed, easily holding the camera above my head and out of my reach.

"I have a goofy smile!" I protested.

"Too bad I like your goofy smile," Elliot grinned. "Nope, it's staying!"

"Nooooo!" I protested, grabbing onto his arm. "I look awful."

"You do not. You look stunning. As always," he said definitively, turning off the camera and stowing it away.

"Mmm!" I murmured, resisting the urge to stamp my foot like a little child. "Why'd you take a photo anyway?" I asked, folding my arms a little huffily.

"Cos I've realised that as much as I hate having my photo taken, I can't keep all my memories in my head forever." Elliot said. "This has been such an amazing day. But what's gonna happen if I look back on it ten, twenty years in the future and I don't remember it? I don't want that. I want to be able to remember my times with you. And the photograph you gave me only cemented that. I remember that day so clearly now when if you'd asked me about it yesterday, I'd probably have struggled to remember one tiny detail about it."

I was smiling. My whole body was tingling with happiness and exuberance as I looked at him, loving and appreciating everything he had just said.

"Yeah," Elliot surmised, looking slightly bashful. "That's the reason."

"Well, I think that's a great reason." I smiled, coming up to him and putting my arms around him. "Now come on. It's late. Take me home?"

"Alright, Madame Bossyboots." He laughed. "Goodness, you really haven't changed. Once a bully, always a bully."

"Once a geek, always a geek," I countered playfully.

He stuck his tongue out at me again, whilst I returned the gesture. Laughing, he released Dragonite, helped me back up onto his back and climbed up himself. As we flew back to Pallet, I rested my head against Elliot's back, my arms tightly around his waist. It was a cold night, and rather cloudy, no sign of any of the traditional romantic scenery you read about in those sappy romance novels. There was no basking in the moonlight or looking up at the stars to be had here. But I didn't care about any of that cliché romantic stuff. Because I knew that right now, right here, with Elliot… was quite possibly the most romantic moment of my life. And I didn't want it to ever end.

He dropped me off right outside my house. As I faltered outside my front door, I found myself clinging onto him tightly, not wanting him to go anywhere. I felt him stroking my hair, murmuring soft words of comfort, his breath tickling the whorls of my ear.

"Hey, Elliot?" I murmured into his comforting embrace, breathing in his natural musk. He always smelled good, even though he didn't wear any of those really strong, pungent scents or aftershaves. I hated most of them anyway and always protested when he hugged me straight after he put them on. As I breathed in his familiar smell it had an almost hypnotic, tantalising effect on me and I clung on tighter. I could smell that subtle, underlying hint of mint, probably from the peppermints he was always chewing on.

"Yeah?" He was holding onto me quite firmly, his arms wrapped protectively around my back I could feel one of his hands gently brushing my lower back in a slow, rhythmic caress. His touch was electrifying and it made goosebumps spring up over my skin everywhere his fingers brushed.

"You were right." I murmured.

"Of course I was right!" he said proudly, before he paused for a couple of seconds. "Uhh... About what?"

I giggled, aiming a weak punch to his midsection. "What you said when we were kids, silly. When you kissed me back then… that really _was _the start of a beautiful friendship."

And with that, I leaned forward on my tip-toes to kiss him again. My lips sought his out easily in the dark and we connected beautifully. He was careful, attentive; his lips slowly moving across mine, kissing me softly and slowly one moment and then quickly and excitedly the next. All the time though, he was gentle, careful, and soft and it just felt so right to kiss him like that. It was gloriously smooth, invigorating my senses and I just did not want it to end. I had kissed Elliot so many times before, but there was simply something so breath-taking, so beautiful and so _special _about this time, that I clung on, wishing it could go on forever.

But all good things must come to an end and we broke apart. He caressed my face one last time, before pulling away and wishing me good night. But as he left, I heard him say something that completely and utterly puzzled me.

"Play it again, greenhorn."

I repeated the strange phrase out loud, trying to figure out what he meant. When I eventually realised, I laughed and shook my head, thinking how quintessentially _Elliot _that was. "_Casablanca._" I thought, as I unlocked the front door and let myself in.

I was still grinning to myself as I kicked off my shoes, set my bag down and began ascending the stairs, that one little phrase echoing around my brain and making me smile every time it presented itself. "_That boy… he's terrible._" I thought with a fond shake of my head. "_He's terrible, but I love him. And I wouldn't have him any other way."_

* * *

><p><strong>Play it Again, Greenhorn<strong>

**Fin.**

**Author's Note**

**Okay, first off… I'm so sorry it's so long. If you've made it to the end, I seriously commend you :D**

**Secondly, this will be the last update to Unbreakable Spirits for a considerable time until I finish or at least almost finish Free Spirits. **

**Thirdly, this very shippy one-shot is dedicated to my boyfriend MasterFreezeman. We may not be celebrating our one year anniversary like Sienna and Elliot are here, but hey! Who needs an excuse to be sappy? :D I love you!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed "The Sound of Music": Sniper Mudkip, MasterFreezeman, The Neverending Meep, I have a dictionary here, WarriorSwift and ArchXDeath. **

**Until next time! **


	8. Fool's Gold

_Out of all the interesting characters Sienna Volbeda met in the Violet City Battle Tournament in 2011, one particular young man stood out in her mind. The effortlessly enigmatic and mysterious Crow Arabesque, a smooth talking charmer and a con artist on the side. They parted ways, but Crow vowed their paths would once again cross._

_Two years have passed since the end of Free Spirits, and Sienna and Elliot currently are living in Goldenrod City and running the Free Spirits dojo, whilst Jasmine and Nikki come for a short visit._

_This was written as a birthday present for Shadow of Eckhart's birthday._

* * *

><p>It was a windy morning in early September, and the sky was crisp and clear. There was a bite to the wind as it whistled through the open window of the messy bedroom on the top floor of the Free Spirits dojo. Sienna Volbeda shivered slightly as she padded around the messy room, picking up discarded clothes and various other knick-knacks that lay on the floor. As she went down on her hands and knees to retrieve an odd sock hiding under the bed, her eyes touched on another dark shape lurking underneath the bed. Frowning, she reached under the bed and touched something solid. She grabbed a hold of it and dragged it out, revealing a box. She let out a tortured groan as she realised it was one of the many boxes that had been conveniently 'forgotten about' when they made the move from Pallet to Goldenrod.<p>

"Seriously?" she muttered to herself, glaring down at the box angrily. "Lived here two years and we _still _have boxes that haven't been unpacked?" the frustrated nineteen year old heaved the box onto the bed and began tugging at the tape binding the box together with as much force as she could muster. "I'm going to _kill _Elliot." She added, wishing she had a knife to slice through the stubborn tape. "He better be doing something helpful downstairs instead of just slobbing about."

Grumbling all the while, she finally ripped open the box. Without hesitation, she delved inside, hoping to find something interesting inside that would be worth all the effort it had taken to open it. She was disappointed to see it was mostly papers and books, nothing that looked official or important. Out of curiosity, she pulled out a handful of the papers on top and flipped through a selection of them. She found mostly old brochures, letters, junk mail, bank statements and notepad paper scrawled all over with stuff that used to be important. Shaking her head and sighing, she began restacking the old papers back into the box, making a mental note to go through it properly later and dump whatever wasn't necessary. But as she worked, a small sheaf of paper dislodged itself from the tightly stacked sheets and fluttered onto the bed.

She blinked in surprise and picked up the loose sheaf gingerly. It was rather crumpled up and rather delicate and she unfolded it carefully, suddenly terrified of ripping it. There was a scrawl of thin, jagged writing across the old, dog-eared paper that she didn't recognise straight away. She squinted, trying to decode what was written there.

_If you ever need to buy something 'on the cheap', sell off some 'suspicious' stuff, get a hold of some 'top-secret' information or just con a local idiot, look me up. _

_Your friendly neighbourhood scam artist,_

_Crow_

As she read the note aloud, a faint tremor of recognition went through her, and no sooner had she seen the name, she let out a gasp of pleasant surprise. "Oh my God! Crow!"

With that name, memories returned to her instantly in a mad, vivid rush. A battle tournament in Violet City two years ago. A young man clad in a blue hat. A young man by the name of Crow Arabesque. He was a fifteen year old con-artist. Sienna shook her head in fondness as she looked this note up and down. Crow had perhaps been the most memorable of all the mad characters she had met over the course of that competition in Violet City and she spluttered with laughter at the memories of his cheeky grin, dapper, almost Victorian gentleman-esque appearance and peculiar, refined way of speaking. "I can't believe I still have this," she smiled, pocketing the little note. "Crow Arabesque. Hmm. I wonder where he is now…?" she mused out loud, as she reluctantly pushed herself from the bed, placed the box of papers back down on the ground and starting to clear up the messy bedroom once again.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the main training room, Elliot Wood was also hard at work. After being given a list as long as his arm by Sienna detailing 'odd jobs' she wanted him to do around the dojo, he had decided to tackle the most annoying of them first. Currently, he was attempting to fix a set of sliding doors that had been thoroughly wrecked by a particular student's very over-enthusiastic Machop. Cursing as he put his thumb once _again _through the flimsy material, he found himself seriously regretting ever taking the decision to retain the traditional dojo interior in favour of something more modern. A splutter of laughter from behind altered him to the fact he wasn't alone, and he turned around to see his spectators, two women by the names of Jasmine Moore and Nikki Harper watching him from the other room. He flushed bright red.

"You know, you _could _help instead of just standing there?"

"No, it's far more entertaining watching you make a right mess of it," Jasmine laughed broadly, whilst Nikki giggled softly.

Elliot's cheeks burned once again and he flapped his arms uselessly at the two visiting women, feeling incredibly embarrassed. "Oh, get out and leave me to work!"

The girls left obediently, still tittering with laughter, to go out onto the small porch outside the dojo to finish eating their breakfast. Elliot shook his head as the door closed behind him. "Women…" he muttered darkly, before picking up the broken pieces of door once again. After a few moments of careful tinkering, he was finally starting to get somewhere with fixing the sliding door. And then, in a moment of carelessness, managed to successfully put his whole hand through the flimsy material. He swore. After successfully venting his anger, he began looking around for something he could use to get a more permanent solution to his sliding door problem.

After a few minutes of working, the phone began to ring.

"Elliot, get the phone!" Sienna screamed from upstairs at once.

"Huh!?" Elliot looked up, his hands full of brown tape that he was now using to "mend" the alarmingly large hole in the sliding door. "I'm busy, woman! You get the phone!"

"_I'm _busy! You're only fixing a door! Get the phone!" Sienna bellowed.

"Jeez!" Elliot muttered, throwing the broken fragments down on the floor and getting up. Pain shot through his legs as he realised they had fallen asleep, so long had he been sitting in the same position. Cursing and swearing, he staggered towards the phone and snatched it up. "Hello?!"

"_Good afternoon. Do you know you could be entitled to thousands of Pokedollars worth of compensation? Simply press—"_

"Oh, shut _up_!" Elliot cried, slamming the phone back on the hook. "Bloody scam." He remarked darkly, glaring at the phone angrily.

Sienna's voice rose up from upstairs once again. "Who was on the phone!?"

"Another one of those automated things!" Elliot hollered back.

"_Another _one?" Sienna screeched. "That's the third one today and it's only ten o'clock!"

"It's a con! It's all just a con," Elliot said grumpily before going back to his attempts to fix the sliding door.

Meanwhile, safe from the shouting and bellowing coming from inside the house, Nikki Harper and Jasmine Moore giggled companionably as they looked out at the buzzing cityscape of Goldenrod City. It was a beautiful, September morning, an unsual slight chill in the air that the two girls easily combated with thick jumpers and warm cups of tea. As the two women allowed the sights and smells of city life to encompass them, Nikki sipped from her cup of tea slowly. "This is nice, isn't it?"

"Sure is," Jasmine said, taking a satisfied gulp from her own cup.

"I think Elliot and Sienna will be busy for a while," Nikki observed as more bickering suddenly sounded from inside the house. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"Eh, why not?" Jasmine shrugged, downing the last of her tea and sitting the cup next to the door. "Let's go!"

The two women began their walk through the Goldenrod streets, weaving a route they knew was familiar. While Sienna and Elliot had adapted to the hustle and bustle of Johto's busiest and largest city with ease, it had been a slower process for Jasmine and Nikki, as they only visited their best friend every now and again. As they walked, chatting companionably about the weather and new things that had sprung up in the city since their last visit, they weren't aware of the slim silhouette of a young man following them.

As Jasmine and Nikki stopped to look at a particularly fashionable dress in a fancy shop window, comparing how that particular cut, style and colour would suit the other's figure, the young man tailing them took his opportunity and breezed up to them, effortlessly including himself in their conversation.

"Hello, ladies. My, you're looking particularly lovely this morning," He grinned, showing off a set of pearly white teeth in a well-practiced smile. He tipped the corner of his blue hat that sat comfortably on the mop of silver-black hair he sported. His brown eyes sparkled with a mischievous intent as he closed in on the two young women.

Jasmine blinked. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly.

"Nothing but a humble salesman, my good woman," he said with another tip of his hat. "So, you look like two beautiful and fashionable ladies—"

Nikki was blushing fiercely at this compliment, but Jasmine was standing there like his words meant nothing to her. She raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows at the young man standing in front of him, but he didn't even waver under her steely glare.

"So, I have _just _the thing you'd be interested in!" he opened his long blue coat with a flourish to reveal a vibrant array of knick-knacks, gadgets and other strange items all hanging from chains on the inner lining of it. He poked around for a few seconds before unhooking two silvery pendants and holding them out to the two girls.

Alarm bells were instantly ringing in Jasmine's head, but Nikki seemed genuinely interested. "What are they?" she asked.

"Genuine Moon Stone pendants," the salesman said, nodding his head firmly, holding up one of the pendants to allow it to shimmer and shine in the golden light of the autumn sun.

"Moon Stone?!" Nikki gaped in awe.

"Yes." The salesman nodded, running a long pale finger across the chinks of the pendent. "A whole Moon Stone goes into the making of just one of these pendants. These glorious little things are perfect accompaniment to _any _outfit! I can guarantee they'll add a touch of class for any occasion. And! As a special, one time only deal, I can embellish them with genuine Moon Stone charms of your favourite Pokemon!"

"Wow…" Nikki whispered, admiring the illustrious sheen the silvery pendants were giving off. "They're beautiful."

"Aren't they?" the salesman grinned broadly.

"Can I see one?" Nikki asked, reaching out her hand to touch the pendant, but found it swiftly pulled away out of her reach.

"Look with your eyes, not with your hands, madam," the salesman said smoothly, grinning all the while. "So! Can I interest either of you two lovely ladies in a genuine, bona fide Moon Stone pendant? A bargain today at only ninety-nine Pokedollars! And as a special offer, have it specially engraved with a Pokemon charm of your choice for an additional twenty Pokedollars! So a beautiful, one-of-a-king Moon Stone pendant can be yours for the amazing price of _under_ one hundred and thirty Pokedollars."

"Oh, I don't know…" Nikki murmured. "I can't really afford that…"

"But think of the investment!" The salesman grinned. "A Moon Stone pendant will be the perfect partner to any dress! Everything from a night out on the town, to a fancy dinner party to a wedding! If you buy this, you will _never _have to buy another piece of jewellery again! And you will be the absolute envy of your friends and family with this one time only offer!"

"Wait just a second, I have a question." Jasmine interrupted the salesman in the middle of his pitch. "So, say we buy one of these things. How exactly do we get this special Moon Stone charm? Cos I don't see a hammer and chisel in that coat of yours."

The salesman smiled wryly. "Very simple, my dear. You come to my shop, tell me exactly what Pokemon your little heart desires on this gorgeous little chain, I send the order to our expert craftsmen who will lovingly handmake your charm from pure Moon Stone essence, attach it to your pendant and will send it out to you by first class post, no extra charge, within no less than ten working days."

Nikki's dark eyes were wide with astonishment and she turned to look at Jasmine, a guilty smile beginning to tug at her lips. Jasmine sighed wearily, knowing instantly what her friend was thinking. "Don't tell me you're actually thinking of getting one…?"

"They're so beautiful!" Nikki cried.

"You just said you can't afford it!"

"Well… well, I _can't _really…" she said softly. "But I _really _want one. And Christian has money…"

"You're not gonna bribe him into getting you one, are you?" Jasmine's eyebrows twitched.

The salesman was smiling through the entire exchange between the two friends, immediately knowing he had a very promising chance of a sale. "Are you interested, madam?"

Despite herself, Nikki nodded. "Y…yeah, I am."

"You have exquisite taste," the salesman grinned, rolling up the cuffs of his blue jacket officially. "Tell you what. You make a decision right now, and I'll give you a special five percent discount just for being such a lovely young lady _and _I'll throw in a beautiful display box at no extra charge."

"Ohh…" Nikki murmured, looking helplessly at Jasmine.

"Do we have a deal?" the salesman pressed.

Nikki let out a deep sigh, but another smile spread across her face. "Oh, all right, then."

"Excellent," the salesman grinned. "You come across with me to the shop, my darling, and we'll get you all sorted out."

"Okay!" Nikki said cheerfully and allowed herself to be steered away with the young salesmen.

Jasmine stood there in the aftermath and ran a hand through her long blonde hair, wondering what the hell she had just witnessed. "Unbelievable…" she said to herself with a fierce shake of her head.

And while Nikki was gradually swept further and further up in the smooth talking salesman's stories about the Moon Stone pendants, and a grumpy Jasmine brought up the rear, a momentary truce had descended on the Free Spirits dojo. The sliding door had eventually been patched up and reattached, minus any gaping holes, and Sienna's bad mood at phone scams and hidden boxes had eventually cleared, casting a far more tranquil atmosphere over the dojo. And while an exhausted Elliot began mustering up the motivation and courage to start on his next DIY job, Sienna decided he deserved a break and came through with two hot mugs of tea and a plate of biscuits and the young couple cuddled up on the sofa for a short while.

After swallowing the last of her tea and enjoying a beautifully quiet and peaceful moment with her beloved boyfriend, Sienna put the cup down and looked around the otherwise empty dojo room. "Where are Nikki and Jasmine? I haven't seen them all morning."

"They were sniggering at me trying to fix that stupid door," Elliot grimaced at the memory. "But then they went outside earlier and I haven't seen them since."

Sienna checked her watch worriedly and frowned when she saw the time. "It's almost eleven," she stated, her eyebrows furrowing together. "And I was gonna take them out for lunch today. I wonder where they've gotten to."

"Call one of them?" Elliot suggested, stretching his aching joints lazily.

"That's your solution to everything," Sienna stuck her tongue out at Elliot, but all the same reached across to the phone sitting opposite her. She punched in the number she knew off by heart and pressed the phone to her ear.

Jasmine answered on the first ring. "Hello?"

Sienna winced at the bored sounding response she had gotten. "Uh, Jasmine?"

"Oh thank Arceus." Jasmine muttered. "Sienna, you've gotta see this. We're in this little jewellers just in the town centre and Nikki is _this _close to buying this supposed 'genuine' Moon Stone pendant."

Sienna blinked, wondering if she had heard right. "You what?"

"I'm convinced it's a scam. Genuine Moon Stone, my arse…" She scoffed.

"A scam, huh?" At Jasmine's words, Sienna was inadvertently reminded of the crumpled up piece of paper currently sitting in her jeans pocket. "Speaking of scams, guess what I found today? A note that guy Crow sent me."

"Who?"

"Crow." Sienna repeated patiently. "From the battle tournament in Violet City, remember?"

There was a confused silence at the end of the phone.

Sienna sighed. "Quite short, skinny, black hair…I think… odd clothes and this really strange manner of speaking. Oh! And a blue hat."

"Wait… a blue hat…?"

"Yeah." Sienna nodded.

"And this guy… you said he was something to do with scams…?"

"Con artist," Sienna corrected her.

Jasmine said a very rude word. "Sienna, I need you to get down here right now."

"What? Why?" Sienna said, sitting straight up on the sofa, disturbing Elliot and making him moan sleepily.

"Just come down here." Jasmine was sounding unusually urgent which instilled an odd sense of panic in Sienna. "I'm gonna try and stop Nikki from being an idiot, you just get down here now."

And with that the phone went dead. Sienna stared blankly at the phone for a few moments before replacing it slowly and looking back at Elliot, who returned a similar confused stare. Before he could say anything however, Sienna had leapt to her feet, had grabbed her bag and was out the front door.

Her mind was awash with odd thoughts as she hurried down the various streets of Goldenrod, heading for the city centre. Once again she found herself grateful for the dojo's centralised location and her own improving sense of direction that allowed her to cut down less populated streets to make her way to the jewellery shop she suspected Jasmine meant, in only a fraction of the time.

She entered the small, unsuspecting family-run jewellers and immediately caught sight of Jasmine engaging Nikki in what looked like a very animated conversation, while a rather amused young man in a blue trenchcoat and blue cap watched on. Sienna stopped straight in her tracks as she picked out this figure in blue.

Everything suddenly made rapid sense. "Crow Arabesque!"

The boy in blue dropped the so called 'genuine' Moon Stone pendant he had been holding like it was red-hot, making an alarmingly large clatter upon the glass countertop. The young man looked up, his deep brown eyes full of genuine astonishment and then a beaming smile took over his face.

"Well, I never. Sienna Volbeda, am I right?"

Sienna's eyebrow rose as she looked down at the young conman with furious disdain. "And just what are _you _doing? Scamming my friends?"

Crow blinked slowly, before looking guiltily at Nikki. "This young lady...is your friend?"

"Do you not recognise her?!" Sienna asked at once. "She was there at that battle tournament in Violet City, same as I was! We were _all _there."

For once, smooth-talking Crow seemed to be lost for words and his mouth hung open like an ensnared Magikarp.

"So..." Nikki piped up, looking a little crushed. "That's _not _really a Moon Stone pendant?"

Crow seemed to come back to earth with a crash, immediately becoming official again. He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid not," he said with a short chuckle and an almost apologetic smile. "It's a very clever imitation, though." He added, as if that made everything alright.

Sienna frowned.

"Unfortunately, these genuine Moon Stone pendants are nothing more than simple costume jewellery." Crow explained. "Would retail at a mere five Pokedollars in any high street shop."

"Oh…" Nikki looked disappointed. "But they look so _real_."

"That's what great about them." Crow had a wicked grin. "The products basically sell themselves. Moon Stone jewellery is incredibly rare and expensive, as you should know, and a lot of people want to get their hands on some. So, get a convincing product, turn on a bit of charm, smooth-talk them, you're practically guaranteed a sale."

Nikki was beyond crushed at this point. She was a mixture of disappointment at the gorgeous Moon Stone pendant turning out to be fake, anger at how she could have been so easily swindled out of so much money and readily frustrated at herself for allowing herself to _be _so easily convinced. Crow blinked, looking a little perplexed at the young woman standing across from him. In a move he surprised _himself _with, he pushed the imitation pendant across the counter towards the disappointed young woman. Nikki looked at him, a little surprised.

"Take it," he said, a little gruffly.

"T…take it?"

"Yeah." He nodded, looking back at Sienna. "I wouldn't like to incur Miss Volbeda's wrath, after all. She seems like a scary woman."

"Only when I'm crossed." Sienna laughed, before walking up to the counter. "Crow, what are you even _doing _here in Goldenrod?"

"Oh, this and that." He said offhandedly. "After the battle tournament, I went back to training for a little while. Took on a league, but, uh… unfortunately I didn't do that well. Since then, I've been travelling Johto, working as a travelling salesman."

"A travelling consman, more like." Sienna countered with a good natured laugh.

"If you wish to be pedantic, then yes. "

Sienna smiled at him, before suddenly remembering something. She fished into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out the sheaf of paper, brandishing it in front of him. "Oh! Do you remember this? I found it earlier!"

"You still have this?" Crow laughed as he looked at the old sheet of paper. He shook his head as he looked down at the string of numbers he had scrawled down. "You never did get in touch with me." He observed casually.

Sienna balked a little at this. "I… I was busy, sorry."

Nikki and Jasmine immediately tensed, recognising the direction this conversation was likely to go in, but Crow dismissed it with an airy wave of his hand. "I understand. Being busy tends to take up all your time, huh?"

"Y…yeah."

"Life has a funny way of doing that," Crow said philosophically. "Throwing all this 'busy' at us when we just want to live our lives. You know… life, to me, seems to be that thing that goes on when we're busy doing other things."

Sienna chuckled merrily. "Yeah, definitely."

Crow was smiling again. "So ladies, perhaps I should be attempt to redeem myself for my very ungentlemanly actions and escort you all to lunch?"

"Yeah! That would be lovely!" Sienna grinned.

Jasmine nodded, but Nikki, who was too preoccupied in investigating the fake Moon Stone pendant she had been given, barely even heard them. As Jasmine, Sienna and Crow left, Nikki was almost forgotten about. Eventually, when things fell quiet, she realised she had been left, squeaked in terror and stumbled out into the busy Goldenrod streets to catch up.

Crow led them on a very short walk into the trendier part of the Goldenrod high street, and after a short wait, the odd group of four sat down to a lunch in a stylish, fashionable and no doubt expensive restaurant. While Sienna anticipated there to be some strife or bad blood amongst the two girls and Crow, there wasn't; Crow's gift of the imitation Moon Stone pendant to Nikki seeming to pacify them. The conversation became animated and Crow proved himself a natural storyteller, regaling the three young women with vivid, exciting stories of black market scams, Robin Hood-esque cons and several thrilling schemes he had pulled off over the years.

Nikki however was admittedly a little confused as to what Crow's occupation actually _was._ "So, you're like… a pickpocket?"

Crow laughed delightedly at the young woman's naivety and innocence, readjusting the scarf around his neck that he _still _insisted on wearing, even indoors. "No, no, I'm no Artful Dodger. I'd like to think I'm a bit more skilled than that. I'm more of a master in swindling. I know how to deceive, pull off fraud, con and I'm quite exceptionally good with numbers and economics. I _also _consider myself a bit of an expert in body language. I can spot a liar a mile off. Perhaps that's why I'm so good at it."

"_And modest too,_" Sienna silently added, chuckling to herself.

Jasmine was frowning, stabbing the leaves of her salad quite violently. "You know, on paper, you don't seem like that nice a person."

"Oh I know," Crow said airily, like it didn't even bother him.

"So, why do you do it?"

Crow's shoulders twitched in the tiniest of shrugs. "Why does anyone do anything? Because they have to."

Sienna's fork froze halfway to her mouth at Crow's reply. "Huh?"

"Well, my family have had a family business for as long as I can remember." Crow explained. "But quite a number of years ago, when the recession hit, the business started to go under. It was awful for my family, and I wanted to help somehow. I mean, I wasn't stupid. I had a good business sense and I knew how to sell and drive a hard bargain. But I was a kid. What self-respecting business would hire a kid? So, one day I stumbled across this black market. One thing led to another and I found myself making quite a healthy living out of it. And that helped me save my family's business."

The three women all nodded.

"And then, when it came time for me to leave home, begin my journey as a trainer, I kept at it. Pokemon training and travelling is an expensive business. And being a scam artist meant I could take my work with me on the road, wherever I went."

"You think you'll ever give it up?"

Crow seemed to consider this question quite seriously for a few moments. "I don't know," he said eventually. "I love my work. I love the thrill of pulling off a good scam. I love coming up with all these elaborate cons and swindling rich people out of money. I'm very good at what I do, but I'd be lying if I said part of me wasn't concerned about getting caught one day."

There was a silence around the table as Crow laid down his fork and knife and took a slow, calculated sip of his water. "It wasn't ever the life I envisioned for myself. It went against all the ethics my family instilled in me about good business. But like I said, life is funny like that. We can try to plan things out; we can say 'this is what I want to do and I won't ever do anything else', but it very rarely works out like that. Life is unpredictable. And that's why I don't believe in an ultimate fate being set out for you, but it's also why I don't believe you can entirely shape your own destiny. Life and living is about adapting to what it throws at you, I think. Sometimes things happen that you can't change. That can be scary for a lot of people, especially if they have this rigid idea of what they want and aren't willing to take a chance on the curveballs that get thrown at them. These little chances can open doors to a world of opportunity you never would think you could ever have, I think people need to stop looking so far ahead and focus on the present. Because sometimes, looking too far into the future makes you blind to the great things you _could _have right now." He took another sip of his water. "But I digress."

There was a silence around the table. Sienna began fiddling with the red beaded bracelet around her wrist, biting her lip fiercely. She muttered something under her breath that Nikki and Jasmine didn't quite catch. Crow smiled as she whispered.

"Talking to yourself—"

"—is the first sign of madness," Sienna finished for him with a delighted giggle.

Crow smiled broadly.

Sienna shook her head, but she was still grinning. "You have such a strange way with words."

"Scam artists have to be good with words," Crow replied at once.

"But how much of that is the scam artist talking and how much of that is just Crow?"

"They're the same person,"

"Not exactly," Sienna countered. "People are more than the front they present. They're more than just their occupation. So much more. I believe it _was _you that told me 'people aren't always what they seem to be. Or what they _believe _they are.' Am I right?"

"You are," Crow acknowledged with a swift nod of his head. "But I also told you that you shouldn't trust anyone."

"Well perhaps I should have listened to you on that count," Sienna laughed, but there was a tinge of bitterness to her forced chuckle. "Trust has to be earned, right? It can't just be given…"

"Well said, Miss Volbeda." Crow smiled. "Though I worry over you a little. You've met me once, you know I'm a scam artist, yet you sit across from me over a table at a restaurant, talking to me frankly and honestly like an old friend."

"You _are _an old friend." Sienna insisted.

"You've met me once."

"Friendship isn't about the number of times you've met someone or how long you've known them. It's about the strength of the bond between two people. It's about connecting with them. Friendship can't be measured in days or weeks or months. It's measured in… well… _love _and affection for each other," Sienna smiled, looking over Nikki and Jasmine in turn, who also returned warm smiles.

Crow was shaking his head fondly and he bowed his head forward, tipping his hat as he did so. He chuckled. "You're a marvel, Sienna Volbeda. You have an answer for everything."

"So do you," Sienna quipped back.

After the heaviness of that particular subject, the table returned to easy conversation once again until lunch was over. Crow settled the bill before Sienna, Jasmine and Nikki could even delve in their bags for their purses, and as the four young adults stood outside the restaurant, Sienna attempted to chastise Crow for taking the responsibility of payment just by himself.

"You're mad for paying that all yourself, Crow!" she scolded him. "That was probably so expensive!"

"I've been called worse things than 'mad' in my life; I consider that to be quite the compliment." Crow deflected effortlessly, showing off a Cheshire Cat grin in the process. "Besides, I've made quite a bit of money from those 'genuine Moon Stone pendants'. Even a greedy con-artist like me can part with a little money for a nice meal."

Sienna shook her head. "You're…" she struggled to find an adequate word to describe the enigmatic young man standing before her, and after finding nothing appropriate, let out a heavy sigh and compensated by waving her arms up and down helplessly.

Crow smiled once again and looked down the streets that were beginning to once again thicken out with people going around their daily afternoon business. He turned an oddly stoic face towards the three young women. "Well, I need to be off."

"Oh, you're going…?" Sienna asked. "Back home to… wherever home is in Goldenrod?"

"Not quite." He said with a shake of his head. "I'm moving on. Scam artists don't stay in the same place for long, and I'm already pushing it having been in Goldenrod for the past few months."

"Where are you going?"

He shrugged. "Wherever the wind takes me. I don't plan that far ahead."

"You wouldn't," Sienna grinned.

"I'll be gone by the morning." He nodded. "But if you ever need me, just call that number on that piece of paper. Don't be a stranger this time."

"I won't." Sienna vowed.

"I'll see you again sometime." Crow nodded, looking over the three women.

"You think?"

"Of course. When peoples' lives become intertwined by fate, God, destiny; by chance or whatever you believe in, they walk the same road. And even if we don't know where that road goes or what it holds, so long as we walk it together, we won't be lonely."

An odd feeling surrounded Sienna. It was a peculiar, giddy, warm feeling, like she had just sunk into a pleasantly hot bath. She couldn't quite explain, nor did she think she _wanted _to explain it. That was just Crow's effect on her. He was a strange one, and his words had always had that strange effect on her.

"I won't say goodbye. I'll say 'see you later'." Crow said, extending his hand to Sienna, who reached out and took it, expecting a handshake. But no sooner had their hands intertwined; Crow pulled Sienna's hand gently upwards and pressed his lips very gently to it.

Sienna squealed in a strange mixture of surprise and delight at Crow's quintessential 'Victorian gentleman' manner, but it was at this unfortunate time that Elliot, after growing weary of waiting back at the dojo, had chosen to meander up this particular street in search of his girlfriend. It just so happened that he appeared just as Crow pressed his lips to Sienna's hand. Elliot stopped straight in his tracks as his girlfriend blushed and squealed as the dapper looking young man kissed her hand, and then instantly felt enraged.

"Oi! Oi!" he hollered, breaking into a run. "Get your dirty hands _off _my girlfriend!"

Sienna froze no sooner did she hear the familiar voice bellow from behind her and whipped around, a guilty look spreading over her face. Crow laughed delightedly as Elliot began running. "Oh look. There's Elliot."

"You bastard! I'll teach you to mess with my girlfriend."

Sienna swore. "Elliot, it's not what you th—"

But Elliot either wasn't listening or chose not to listen to his girlfriend's frantic protests. The sheer thought of any other man touching his girlfriend, let alone _kissing _her had sent him into a furious rage and he quite literally wanted the wrench the strange man in blue away from her and pound him into the ground. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

While Nikki and Jasmine both squealed in fright at a rare display of normally mild-mannered Elliot's anger and Sienna let out a groan of anguish at the whole situation, Crow was the only one who looked perfectly at ease.

"I think I'll take my cue to leave," Crow said calmly, looking completely unthreatened by Elliot, who was slowly closing in, hindered by the massive crowds of afternoon shoppers. Grinning wickedly, showing off an array of pearly white teeth, Crow tipped his hat once more, before pivoting on his heel and running, leaving the three women stunned.

Sienna momentarily got over her shock to try and grab Elliot as he raced past, but he was like a rampaging Tauros that had seen red and wouldn't be stopped. No matter how much she screamed his name and threatened him with all sorts of grievous bodily harm if he didn't get back here _now,_ her calls went unheeded.

As Nikki and Jasmine roared with laughter as Elliot clumsily pushed his way through the throngs of people, Crow was nothing more than a rapidly disappearing blue blur streaking away in the distance. Sienna shook her head helplessly, a short laugh escaping her at the madness of it all. Despite the frivolity of everything, she felt a little sad to see Crow go, knowing in her heart she wouldn't likely see him again for quite some time. He remained as much of an enigma as ever, still a mystery, a riddle; a puzzle she didn't quite have the capacity to solve just yet. She felt weirdly like she had learned so much about him, but at the same time, learned nothing at all. It was an odd feeling and she let out a resigned sigh, quite unsure with what to do with the strange emotions bubbling up inside her. She had a bizarre inkling that she could probably see Crow every day for the rest of her life and still be no closer to understanding what made the mysterious, unfathomable young man tick.

Crow kept running, his blue coat billowing out in the brisk crescendo of September winds, Elliot falling further and further behind as he easily slipped through the crowds and darted down a side street, eventually losing the furious young man effortlessly. Chuckling madly, he pulled the folds of his coat around him one more time and readjusted his cap to a jaunty angle. He took in a deep breath and smiled as the wind washed over him, soft and comforting, like the swell of a wave breaking over golden sand.

"On the road again," he mused out loud as he began to walk again. "I wonder whose path I'll cross next."

And with that, the silhouette of blue disappeared back into the crowd, disappearing back into a sea of mundane life, his sights firmly set on a new horizon.

After what felt like an hour of searching the Goldenrod streets, Elliot finally gave back and trudged back to the girls. He eventually got an answer to all the strange goings-on and his face was a picture of shock, amazement and great amusement as Nikki and Jasmine eagerly recounted the mad tale. Sienna however was only half listening. Once again, she was feeling a little sad, the poignancy of Crow's words ringing in her head.

"_When peoples' lives become intertwined by fate, God, destiny; by chance or whatever you believe in, they walk the same road. And even if we don't know where that road goes or what it holds, so long as we walk it together, we won't be lonely._"

Despite her melancholy sadness, Sienna smiled secretly to herself. There had been times in her life where she had felt alone, just like everyone else in the world, but looking at the world through Crow's eyes, like a giant highway of roads, was a rather comforting thought. Even if the roads they travelled would sometimes deviate away from each other at times, the knowledge they would all eventually cross again gave her peace of mind and solace, an experience that had been a distinctly rare occurrence to her over the past two years.

"_People may be lost to us at times…_" she thought as they weaved their way through the vibrantly blurred streets of Goldenrod on their way back to the Free Spirits dojo. "_And sometimes they may go away for a little while… or a very long time. But Crow's right. Even if they're not right there, our roads are connected and they'll cross again one day. Even if it seems like I'll never see them again…_"

Her hand found Elliot's and she looked at both him and her two friends. Three people she could be assured she was walking the same road with. She thought of Crow, who was currently slowly making his way through the less populated streets of Goldenrod, heading out on another journey. Heading a completely different way to her, but still, nonetheless, walking the same road.

Because, were it down to fate, God, destiny, chance or whatever was pulling the strings in this big open universe of theirs, they were connected.

And connections like that, even those tied by an invisible thread, could never be broken.

**Fools Gold**

**Fin**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Okay, now I _did_ say I wasn't going to publish anything to this until after Free Spirits was concluded, and I was a little bit iffy about publishing this because it's set _after _Free Spirits and I don't want to give away too much of the ending of the fic, but this is a special occasion! :D **

**Happy 15th Birthday to Shadow of Eckhart, my good friend, my resident evil editor and owner of Crow Arabesque :D **

**Thanks to everyone who read "Play it Again, Greenhorn" :D **

**MasterFreezeman: Yep! You're the Elliot to my Sienna *shot repeatedly for sappiness* At any rate, I'm glad you enjoyed the oneshot, love, and that you picked up on all the wee subtle references I put in :D**

**I have a dairy here: You do bring up an interesting point. Elliot is also camera-shy to an extent to video cameras, as seen by his nervousness in Spirited when he was interviewed in front of Victory Road, but he generally does better in video cameras. He has more of a phobia of cameras cos he doesn't mind the fluidity of a moving image of him, he's scared of solid snapshots of him. If that makes sense?**

**ArchXDeath: Goodness, you're too nice to me haha! Your reviews always make me smile, thank you so much for them :D I don't deserve all this praise. But thank you, kohai! **

**WarriorSwift: Ah yes, it was rather long. But thank you for sticking with it! **

**Until next time :)**


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